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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23614939">Carissimi</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Dungeons &amp; Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Fantasy Typical Violence, Fluff and Humor, M/M, less angst than usual, lots of background lesbians, lots of shennagins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:40:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>27,515</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23614939</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hired by the spouse of a museum curator, Riku is tasked with recovering an ancient Elven painting from the tombs of the world’s most infamous necromancer. Even while partnered with a renowned thief and her exuberant best friend, the job they share is challenging. But through it all, one question weighs heaviest on Riku’s mind.</p><p>  <i>Why the hell do bards dress like that?</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>133</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Idiot Fighter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hey everyone! hope yall are staying safe &lt;3</p><p>this is my fun lil fic i work on when i need a break from my other soriku fic (lost at sea) and need some dnd-esque shennagins.</p><p>i want everyone to know: you dont need to know dnd for this story :0! theres some fantasy mumbo jumbo like half-orcs and clerics, but its mostly just a fantasy setting with some dnd elements. ive tagged for violence as well because of some fights, blood, and a touch of undead body horror, so heads up if thats a squick for u!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Riku limped his way to the tavern, blood saturating through the bandages sloppily wrapped around his chest. Luckily, his injuries were not visible under his armour, so at least he didn’t attract any more stares than his usual appearance.</p><p>Close to a major metropolis, this outskirt market town housed mostly open-minded individuals. But half-orcs still managed to garner more looks than the average folks. </p><p>Riku did his best to avoid attention, choosing to dress conservatively, and allowing his long silver hair to hide most of his face, including greyish-blue skin and his short, but prominent, tusks. If someone were far enough away, or adequately drunk, he could easily be mistaken for a seven foot tall, extremely muscular, human.</p><p>Riku winced, holding at his stomach in a way that he hoped wasn’t too obvious. More than the injuries to his torso, the true suffering he felt was the damage done to his ego. Despite ample warning, Riku had disregarded Xion’s advice and decided to brave the cavern alone.</p><p>He had been a few hundred feet inside, for all but an hour before setting off an arcane lock and getting his abdomen pierced by the trap it sprung. Not to mention triggering something else on the way out that burned his upper chest and right forearm.</p><p>Which of course, was exactly what Xion warned him of when he waved off their insistence on hiring others to go along with him.</p><p>“Now Riku,” the halfling told him. “Of course if this were a mere test of strength, you wouldn’t have any issue. But I know that this will require more than strength alone.”</p><p>Hadn’t that been the truth? For starters, any knowledge of lock picking would have been useful. Riku winced, clenching his teeth as the wound in his gut throbbed painfully. <i>As well as knowing how to use a goddamn healer’s kit,</i> Riku thought to himself.</p><p>Luckily Xion had given Riku enough funds to hire a full party. But Riku neglected to recruit anyone else; not out of greed, but merely out of a strong desire to never be around other people, ever.</p><p>Usually this wasn’t an issue for the odd jobs that Riku took on. The typical interaction with employers was at least brief, even if horribly awkward. And any other people he ran into usually were the bandits or ruffians he would be hired to take out, so luckily there was no need for conversation there.</p><p>As of late, social skills hadn’t been an issue in finding employment. The museum curator he had been working for, an elven woman named Naminé, was almost as much of a recluse as Riku himself. She was kind, but direct and informative in how she gave out jobs, finding no need to pause for idle chit chat.</p><p>Riku had spent the last few months working solely for her, only to have this pattern interrupted when, while returning from his last job, he had been pulled aside by Naminé’s partner, the halfling Xion.</p><p>Xion requested he help them get a gift for their wedding anniversary with Naminé. It had sounded simple enough, until Xion explained he would be recovering a painting from a necromancer’s tomb.</p><p>The tomb of the infamous Maleficent.</p><p>Nonetheless, Riku agreed. He was fond of Naminé, and grateful for her generous partnership with him. Whether or not that was the reason Riku continued to make his way, bloodied and bandaged, to <i>The Pilgrim's Flask,</i> or sheer dumb determination, Riku wasn’t sure.</p><p>The two-story inn stood on the edge of town, probably further out from the neighborhoods to avoid any possible noise complaints. Even in the distance, it was well lit and <i>loud.</i> Whether the sound came from cheering, music, brawling, or most likely a combination of all three, Riku could hear the uproar a half-mile away.</p><p>Upon arriving, Riku saw, sure enough, the noise had been a combination of many factors. The tavern was packed, the patrons were drunk and rowdy, and the poor band was playing vigorously to try and be heard over the din. For the few times Riku had been here, this had been the typical atmosphere. Which was why Riku had only been a few times.</p><p>Scanning the building, Riku saw the tip he received from asking around earlier proved true. The red-headed half-elf was sitting at a table near the bar, yelling at a group of people in the middle of a spirited (drinking? card? combination of the two?) game.</p><p>Riku made his way through the crowd carefully. He did his best not to jostle others and aggravate his wounds, or to be jostled by others and have them try to start an impromptu fist-fight.</p><p>Once Riku was near enough, he settled into the crowd and waited for an appropriate moment to pull Kairi aside.</p><p>“Eight of Hearts!” Kairi yelled, beaming wide. She punched the shoulder of the man sitting next to her. “Drink up!”</p><p>He rolled his eyes and put a coin in the center and then took a chug from his glass.</p><p>Kairi cheered, and wrapped her arms around the woman to her right, a human brunette wearing a sun-orange apron and a loose bun. Kairi gave her a tight squeeze, and a cheer of joy, evidently happy at winning. Riku watched her with interest, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>After the two broke apart, Kairi pulled a card out of her deck and slammed it down onto the table with vigor. “Ten of Hearts!” Kairi cried.</p><p>The other woman cackled, and pointed at the man across the table. “That’s three now!”</p><p>“You’re cheating,” the man grumbled, sliding more money into the center.</p><p>“No, Luck is a lady, and she’s on our side tonight,” Kairi snidely told him in response. Then she took a swig from her own glass. Whether that was part of the game, or she just wanted to, Riku wasn’t sure.</p><p>“Don’t be a sore loser, Hayner,” the human woman added. Then she held up Kairi’s card, addressing the rest of the table. “Now, anyone have a Queen, or is Kairi going to take the fourth pot of the night?”</p><p>“I’m out,” someone called, folding their hand. The rest of the table seemed to give a collective groan of agreement.  Kairi cackled, reaching out her arms and scooping up the impressive pile of money on the center of the table.</p><p>“A pleasure playing with you!” Kairi told them. She gave a theatrical bow, causing some of the coins in her arms to spill out. Before anyone at the table could react, Kairi was on her feet and snatched the money out of the air before it hit the ground. </p><p>The human woman next to her leapt up, beaming. “Let’s give a round of applause for our victor!” Half the table gave a half-hearted clap or two, while the other half eyed the half-elf woman with malice. </p><p>“Now that’s hardl-” the human woman began to say, but a disheveled, ginger tabaxi walked by and grabbed her by the elbow.</p><p>“Are you the barkeep?” they asked, voice annoyed.</p><p>The woman pulled her arm free. “Yes,” she snapped in response.</p><p>“Good. I’ve been trying to get a frikken’ drink for ten minutes now.”</p><p>“Oh,” a blush crept over the woman’s face. Some of the table, Kairi included, began laughing. “I suppose I should uh… get back to work.”</p><p>“Catch you later, Olette?” Kairi asked her. The woman nodded, before following the annoyed patron back to the bar. At that, the rest of the table began to disperse. Figuring this was as good of a time as any, Riku stepped in.</p><p>“Congratulations,” he told her.</p><p>“Ah, it was nothing,” Kairi replied. Her face was exuberant, and she didn’t look up from counting her coins as she put them in her bag. “You interested in another game?”</p><p>“Uh, no,” Riku said. “I’m alright, thanks.” Even if he hadn’t noticed Kairi taking a card out of the barkeep’s bra while the two embraced, Riku wasn’t particularly interested in playing.</p><p>“Then what can I do for ya, mister…” Kairi trailed off, looking up at him. Her face froze for a moment, and then it broke out into a wide smile. “Hey! I know you!”</p><p>“Yes,” Riku nodded. “The bandit hideout on the outskirt of Hethford.”</p><p>“That was a good day,” she told him with a grin. “How are you... you old so-and-so?”</p><p>“Riku,” he offered. “Riku Thatir.”</p><p>Kairi scoffed, tossing her long red braid over her shoulder. “I didn’t forget your name!” She told him, voice a little over-earnest. She finished counting her money, and then tucked her pouch back into the folds of her leather armour. “Can I get you something to drink?”</p><p>Riku shook his head.</p><p>“Can I… help ya?”</p><p>Riku nodded.</p><p>“That’s right, you weren’t much of a talker.” Kairi patted the seat next to her. “I remember now. What can I do for you, Riku Thatir, a man whose name I definitely never forgot?”</p><p>“I’d like to hire you for a job, if you’re interested,” Riku told her. He sat down beside her, arm pressing on his stomach as he did, trying not to irritate the wound.</p><p>Kairi propped her elbows on the table. She linked her fingers together, and leaned in closer, resting her chin on her hands.</p><p>“A job, you say?” Her eyes shone.</p><p>Riku nodded. “I’ve been hired to get a painting for the curator of the museum in Orleah’s capital.”</p><p>“Ooh! Stealing a painting,” Kairi chirped. “That should be easy.”</p><p>Riku frowned. “It’s more that we’re stealing it back.”</p><p>“Even better,” she told him. “I love charity work!” She tucked a strand of hair that escaped her braid behind a long, pointed ear. “This sounds easy, sign me up!”</p><p>“It’s believed to have been stolen by Lady Maleficent.”</p><p>“Oh!” Kairi flinched at the name. “Wow. That sounds uh… much less easy.” Kairi leaned in even closer, and lowered her voice. “Didn’t she die a long, <i>looong</i> time ago?”</p><p>Riku nodded. “The painting belonged to the curator’s elven great-grandmother.”</p><p>“I mean, that’s cool and all,” Kairi said. “But, how are we supposed to find it?”</p><p>“It’s said she brought many treasured items with her to her final resting place, and that painting is believed to have been worth a fortune.” Kairi turned a shade paler at his words. “I’ve got a map to her tomb.”</p><p><i>”Her tomb?”</i> Kairi hissed back. “Man, this is Maleficent we’re talking about.” Riku nodded. “Like, Maleficent the Necromancer. Maleficent, the Mistress of all Undead.”</p><p>“Yes, that one,” Riku agreed.</p><p>“Yes! I’m guessing that the world’s most infamous necromancer would have… I dunno… Seriously trapped the hell out of her own tomb?!”</p><p>Riku’s chest tightened a little, his abdomen and forearm stinging at the mention of their injury. “It definitely is,” he told her. “That’s why I’d like you to come. I need a rogue who knows her way around a trap.”</p><p>Kairi held up her hands and shook her head, leaning back. “No, no. Thanks, pal. But no thanks.” She crossed her legs and took a sip from her drink. “This sounds way above my pay grade.”</p><p>“Ah,” Riku frowned, a little disappointed. He wasn’t sure where he was going to go to enlist a thief’s help now. Kairi had been the first and only person who came to mind after he realized the job was above his head. While she wasn’t exactly… the most <i>honest</i> of people, Kairi was an excellent thief. </p><p>Riku met her initially when he was hired to dispatch a group of bandits, and found Kairi sneaking into the hideout as well, hired by the town’s mayor to assassinate the leader. Kairi was brass, but she was talented and easy to work with. She had done most of the talking, and had been understanding of the fact Riku did not.</p><p>“Well, thank you.” Riku pushed back his chair, about to get up. Kairi was sipping her drink, and watching him with a thoughtful expression on her face.</p><p>“Hold on, I actually forgot to ask,” she said. “How much <i>does</i> this job pay?”</p><p>“Oh, right.” Riku sat back down. “It would be two thousand gold.”</p><p>Kairi stopped mid-sip, cheeks full of ale. “What?!” she gurgled, some of the drink falling out of her mouth. “How are we splitting that up?”</p><p>“That is the split up amount.”</p><p>Kairi’s eyebrows shot up above her bangs. “Holy cow! With money like that, you could hire a whole army!”</p><p>Riku shrugged. The idea of working with a whole army sounded… overwhelming, to say the least.</p><p>“Who else have you got?” Kairi asked him. Her whole body language changed. She scooted closer again, leaning in, eyes alight and eager.</p><p>“If you’re in, two.”</p><p>Kairi gave a hearty laugh at that. “Well, friend, you’ve got two.” </p><p>Kairi took another sip of her drink. “Although, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone else come along.” Her expression brightened. “Wait! I know just the guy- he came here with me.”</p><p>Kairi popped her head up excitedly, scanning the bar. Riku was just about to tell her that two was fine when he was interrupted by the arrival of someone new.</p><p>A man flung himself down onto the seat beside Kairi, a blur of color. He was a tiefling, with tightly curled horns like a ram, and bright pastel-red skin. More vibrant than the color of his skin, however, was the way he was dressed.</p><p>He was technically shirtless, wearing a sash across his chest that flowed down, covering most of his stomach. Tied around his waist with several colorful scarves was a bow for a string instrument and a small snare drum. He wore baggy harem pants, decorated with beads and metal bangles that matched the ones tied around his horns.</p><p>The man had one hand on a mug and the other holding a strap to the fiddle on his back.</p><p>“Kairi!” he beamed, setting down his drink and wrapping his arms around the half-elf.</p><p>“Wow, Sora! Speak of the devil!” she cried, hugging him back. “Riku, this is the guy I was just telling you about!”</p><p>“Whose Riku?” Sora asked when the two broke apart. Riku cleared his throat, and the man looked at him. “Woah! There’s Riku.”</p><p>Being the hulking mass he was, and almost a foot and a half taller than this man, Riku was surprised Sora had been able to overlook him, even for a brief moment.</p><p>“Hi, Riku!” Sora stuck out his hand. “Sora Nabis.”</p><p>Reflexively, Riku moved his right arm, but stopped himself with a small grunt of pain. Instead, he brought up his left hand for the shake. Sora looked confused, but shook his hand nonetheless.</p><p>“So, why were you just talking about me?” Sora asked.</p><p>“Riku here has a <i>very</i> lucrative job for us,” Kairi told him. “How’s your schedule looking?”</p><p>Sora grinned. “Aw, c’mon, Kai. You know I’m never doing anything.”</p><p>Kairi clapped her hands together. Evidently, all was decided in her eyes. Riku hadn’t even gotten a moment’s chance to protest the addition of this third unknown. </p><p>“Alright!” She said. “I feel like we’ve covered all our bases then.” </p><p>Kairi held up her hand, counting off on her fingers. “A rogue to pick locks and disable traps- yours truly.” She held up a finger. “A big strong fighter to punch any skeletons that rise out of the ground,” she gave a nod in Riku’s direction and held up another finger. “Check.”</p><p>“Ooh, skeletons?” Sora asked, a playful curiosity in voice. “Why skeletons? What did I miss?”</p><p>“And a bard to keep an eye out for magic shit,” Kairi raised her third finger and gestured to Sora. “Check!”</p><p>“Cool! When are we leaving?” Sora inquired. Riku was surprised the tiefling jumped on board without even getting his question about skeletons answered, let alone any additional details.</p><p>“Good question.” Kairi tapped a finger to her lips. “When do you want us to head out, Riku?”</p><p>“As soon as possible.” Riku’s abdomen gave a particularly nasty throb of pain at that moment, as if to remind Riku he needed to rest up first. “Er… maybe tomorrow morning.”</p><p>“Alright, sounds good,” Kairi agreed. “Are you spending the night here?”</p><p>“I suppose so,” Riku said. He didn’t have any other accommodations in mind, and he certainly didn't have the energy to walk back into town.</p><p>Kairi downed the last sip of her drink, then slammed her cup down onto the table. She stood up, stretching out her arms above her head. “Well, I think I should meet up with Olette, she said I owed her one for helping me out tonight.”</p><p>“Aw,” Sora put his hands on his hips and gave his friend an exaggerated frown. “You’ve been hustling <i>again,</i> Kai?”</p><p>She ignored him, digging through her pocket. She pulled out a small silver key. “Here,” she slid it across the table at Riku. “You can have my room, Olette gets off in an hour and I uh…” she clicked her tongue. “Don’t think I’ll need my bed tonight.”</p><p>“Alright.” Riku picked up the key, feeling flustered.</p><p>“Have a good night, boys!” she called to them, waving goodbye with her empty cup in hand before sauntering off towards the bar.</p><p>Sora tapped at the key in Riku’s hand. The sudden contact caused Riku to startle.</p><p>“You’ll be right down the hall from me,” Sora informed him. </p><p>Riku nodded, trying not to react to the extreme amount of pain that his jump of surprise cost him. Nonetheless, he grit his teeth and clenched his hand into a fist.</p><p>Sora’s eyebrows knit together. “Are you alright?”</p><p>“Just a little scrapped up,” Riku told him.</p><p>Sora gasped. “Oh no! You’re hurt.”</p><p>Riku shook his head, but Sora didn’t seem to notice or care. He reached out his hands, grabbing Riku’s right arm. </p><p><i>”Ah,”</i> Riku hissed.</p><p>“Sorry! I…” Sora turned Riku’s arm over, evidently trying, (but failing) to be a little more gentle this time. “How do I do this?”</p><p>“Do <i>-ack-</i> what?”</p><p>Sora put Riku’s arm down and stood up, stepping close to Riku and tugging at his breastplate. “Here, take this crap off.” Sora told him.</p><p>
  <i>“Excuse me?”</i>
</p><p>Sora gave no explanation. He also seemed to have decided not to wait for Riku, and began fiddling with the buckle on Riku’s armour. Riku tried, and failed to pull away, only managing to double over and wince instead. Sora disregarded him entirely, and continued to unwork Riku’s straps. After a moment of struggle between the two, Sora managed to pull off Riku’s right vambrace, a task made easy because Riku never bothered to wear gauntlets, finding them too restrictive.</p><p>Riku’s undershirt sleeve had been singed away by the fire, offering no covering for the blistered skin of his forearm. It was red and raised, even burnt black in places.</p><p>Sora pressed his lips together, looking nauseous. “Oh man, that’s gotta hurt.”</p><p>Before Riku got a chance to ask Sora what he was doing, Sora began to rub his hands together, his fingertips glowing with a bright gold energy. Then Sora pressed his fingertips painfully onto the charred flesh.</p><p>The strangled yelp of pain got stuck in Riku’s throat. For just as quickly as the impact had stung, a strange sensation came over him. It felt like a warm water, gently trickling up over his arm. Then, just as instantly as the feeling came, it was gone. In its place, there was a slight numbness and the burnt skin became merely slightly risen, and a little pink.</p><p>“How did you…?” Riku asked, his voice trailing off.</p><p>“Heh.” Sora stood back up straight, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. “Just a trick I know. Pretty neat, right?”</p><p>Riku nodded mutely. He was staring at the skin on his arm in awe. “You’re a healer,” Riku said, a little dumbfounded.</p><p>“Nah.” Sora shook his head. “I’m just a caster with a knack for healing spells. I’m no healer.” Sora pointed at the pink skin. “If I was, that would be it’s normal color again.”</p><p>The technicality made little difference to Riku. Where there had once been searing pain, there was now only numbness and a small sting.</p><p>Riku bit at his lip. “Is there any chance you could do it again?”</p><p>Sora raised his eyebrows. “There’s more? Dang! What happened to you?”</p><p>Riku looked around the tavern. It was crowded, and it was loud, and everyone was transfixed with their own table. But Riku still didn’t think it was a good idea for a seven-foot half-orc to start stripping off his armour in the middle of the bar.</p><p>“I’ll tell you upstairs,” Riku told him.</p><p>Sora nodded. He finished his drink, then followed Riku past the bar and up the second floor, where the rooms were. The din of downstairs was quieter up here, the cheering and music became mere muffled background noise.</p><p>Riku checked the number on his key, and then followed the numbered doors to the room Kairi lent him. Upon opening it, Riku found a wooden bed with a half-open window above it, and across the room a small chest of drawers.</p><p>A flickering candle stood on the chest, giving the room a soft yellow light. The covers were rumpled, and there were strands of long red hair on the pillow. Beyond that, the room was empty. It seemed either Kairi had moved her things to Olette’s room beforehand, or, like Riku, carried everything she owned on her person. </p><p>Sora stepped in behind Riku, shutting the door. Riku set his haversack down next to the bed.</p><p>“So where else do you need the magic touch?” Sora asked.</p><p>“My chest,” Riku told him, feeling his cheeks heat up a little. “If that’s okay.”</p><p>“No worries, we’re coworkers now,” Sora told him, grinning. “Or something. You and Kairi never actually filled me in.”</p><p>“Yet you agreed,” Riku pointed out.</p><p>Sora walked across the room, adjusting the instrument slung across his back so he could sit comfortably on the bed. “I’m down for anything,” Sora said. “What are we doing, though?”</p><p>“I need to get a painting from Maleficent's tomb,” Riku recited.</p><p>“Ooh!” Unlike Kairi, Sora's face lit up at the name. “Isn't she that super old, dead lady?” </p><p>Riku nodded.</p><p>“So that's why there's skeletons,” Sora added thoughtfully. “How much are we getting payed? A tall order like that must be worth a lot.”</p><p>“We’ve got four thousand gold to split up. We could do it an even three-ways, but Kairi was already promised two thousand before she suggested you come.”</p><p>“I don’t think Kairi will say no to splitting the money three-ways,” Sora replied. He pulled up his legs, sitting criss-cross on the bed. His pants ended a little after the knee, so his legs were exposed except for the straps of his gladiator-style sandals. Either way, his ankles were bare. Riku’s face heated up, and he cast his eyes downward.</p><p>“Kairi might seem kinda stingy, but she cares more about winning stuff than the actual amount of money, y’know?” </p><p>Riku nodded. The sentiment didn’t really make sense to him, but he didn’t see any reason to voice it aloud. Instead, he focused on trying to remove his breastplate.</p><p>Riku didn’t wear proper armour by any means. He wore no helmet or bevor to cover his neck, and prefered heavy leather boots to traditional sabaton. It was a tad unusual, but otherwise he never would have been able to don or remove it by himself. Really, it was a makeshift jumble of metal covering that mostly protected his vital organs but left his joints exposed. But Riku much prefered the small risk, figuring it outweighed the cost of being rendered imobile by a full suit and helmet. </p><p>“Do you need any help?” Sora asked.</p><p>Riku shook his head. “I’m used to doing this by myself.”</p><p>“Huh, seems hard.” Sora leaned back on his palms. “I hate wearing armour. I can’t imagine having to run around in the stuff all day.”</p><p>Similarly, Riku could scarcely imagine wearing so little. In theory, Riku knew casters found ways to protect themselves that weren’t physical. Dexterity, arcane shielding, counter-spells. But even if Riku didn’t need forty pounds of metal to keep himself safe, he still couldn’t picture himself leaving the comfort of his own room without a proper shirt on.</p><p>After a minute, Riku was able to remove his chest armour. He set it down next to his bag. In the time since he made his first meager attempt to treat his wounds hours ago, they had apparently gotten agitated again. His shirt was wet with blood.</p><p>Sora’s eyes grew to twice their size. He pushed himself back up into a sitting position. “Oh god…” he mumbled. “You’ve… just been sitting at the bar with <i>this</i> under your clothes?”</p><p>Riku nodded.</p><p>“Oh my god…” Sora frowned. “Did you try to go at the tomb alone?”</p><p>Feeling foolish, Riku nodded again.</p><p>“We have an idiot fighter in our midst!” Sora gasped. Riku glanced up at the ceiling, trying not to roll his eyes.</p><p>Sora stood up from the bed. He walked to where Riku stood. Much like his shirtsleeve, the chest of Riku’s clothes were burned away. His arm had gotten the worst of it, but his chest still sported a sizable red burn, raising the skin and crawling up from his left breast to his collarbones.</p><p>Sora rubbed his hands together, and again they began to glow gold. Then he pressed his fingers into Riku’s chest, and much like last time, after the instant of pain at contact, a warm feeling spread over him. In a moment, the skin was blue-grey again, recovering better than his arm.</p><p>“Alright,” Sora mumbled, looking pale. “Now for the… bloody one.”</p><p>Riku nodded, pulling up the shirt, damp and red. The bandages were soaked through. Sora placed a hand over his mouth, muffling a gagging noise.</p><p>Since the bandage job was sloppy at best, it was easier for Riku to push aside the loose fabric and reveal the wound, rather than unwrap the many, many layers.</p><p>Looking far less enthusiastic this time, Sora rubbed his hands together. With only one eye open, he reached out his glowing hand gingerly. </p><p>Sora touched his fingers onto the skin above the wound. But Riku was slick with blood, and Sora's hand slipped, instead pressing <i>directly inside</i> where the arrow had punctured Riku’s gut with a sickening squelching sound.</p><p>Riku’s vision went white with pain and Sora made a loud retching noise, like he was trying to force something back down his throat.</p><p>After the excruciating moment passed, the puncture was replaced with a shallow gash, looking days old.</p><p>“Thank you,” Riku breathed. In just a moment the agonizing pain completely disappeared.</p><p>“Mhm,” Sora nodded. His skin looked more like Riku’s blue-grey than his own natural light red. “No problem.” His voice cracked as he said it.</p><p>Riku looked down at his wound, now clean. It made the bandages look all the more filthy. “I should change these-”</p><p>“Oh, no you don’t!” Sora cut him off. “This looks terrible!” Sora leaned in, looking at the clumsily tied fabric. Too tight in some places, and slipping off in others. “Who did this?” Sora asked. “A dog? A <i>drunk</i> dog?”</p><p>“First aid isn’t really my specialty,” Riku admitted.</p><p>“Yeah, no kidding. Sit down.” Sora crouched down, grabbing Riku’s bag. “Do you have any more in here, or did you use all the bandages in the world wrapping that?”</p><p>Riku chuckled a little despite himself. He had used a lot, probably far more than necessary. </p><p>“There should still be some bandages left.” </p><p>As Sora ordered, Riku sat down and began unwinding the dirty cloth.</p><p>After a moment of rummaging, Sora came back with the roll of clean, white linen. He sat down on the bed next to Riku. </p><p>“Lift up your shirt, I’ll show you how it’s done.”</p><p>Riku obeyed. This was strictly medical, so he told himself he shouldn’t feel embarrassed. Riku didn’t listen to himself, of course, but it had been worth a try.</p><p>“You’re certainly good at this, for someone so squeamish,” Riku told him.</p><p>Sora nodded, eyebrows knitted in concentration as he wrapped Riku’s abdomen. </p><p>“Well, it’s not really something I pursued. As I said, not a healer.” He worked meticulously, making sure the cloth was snug but not tight, and properly covering the wounded area. “I’m just a musician with a knack for this shit. People just kept getting hurt around me and I…” Sora stopped, leaning down to finish the wrap, securing the end. “I don’t know, I just figured it out?”</p><p>“It’s more than I can do,” Riku told him. “You have a gift.”</p><p>“Eh, I don’t know about that.” Sora stood up. “Well, I’ve done all I can.” He gave a slight smile, looking down at Riku’s burned and bloodied shirt. “As for your clothes, sorry. Nothing I can do.”</p><p>“You’ve done more than enough,” Riku told him. “Thank you.”</p><p>Sora rubbed at his nose again. “Nah, I’m just doing my job.” Sora took a step towards the door. “You can pay me back tomorrow by doing yours. Make sure no skeletons punch me.”</p><p>Again, Riku couldn’t help but chuckle. “I won’t.” </p><p>Sora raised his eyebrows. “Let that happen,” Riku quickly amended. “Will do my job. Won’t let that happen.”</p><p>Sora barked out a laugh in response. “Well, see you tomorrow.” He gave Riku a nod. <i>”Coworker.”</i></p><p>With a swish of his tail, Sora shut the door behind him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>have my tweeter https://twitter.com/SnailVape<br/>i will post updates for this fic as well as lost at sea. and maybe other stuff but probably not</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Virgin Blood</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, Riku met the two downstairs for breakfast. The inn was a completely different creature during the day. It was close to empty, only containing a few guests contentedly eating breakfast, and some old gnomes at the bar, wincing as they drank their hair of the dog.</p><p>Sora's demeanor had not changed at all from last night. He sat cross-legged on his seat, tail swishing happily. </p><p>Kairi was a mess, sipping on coffee with a distant look in her eyes. Her usually immaculate long braid was unwinding, strands of hair clinging to her face. Her neck was decorated with purple hickeys, and she had makeup smeared on her cheeks, despite the fact Kairi hadn’t been wearing makeup.</p><p>Between Kairi's appearance, and the moment shared with Sora last night, Riku couldn't decide which of the two was harder to keep eye contact with. Instead, Riku just fixed his eyes on a crack in the wooden table as he debriefed the two. </p><p>Riku explained they could be underground for at least a week, and divided up some of the funds Xion pre-paid him for supplies. Together the three made a list of things to get. Then they paid a very disheveled, (but very pleased,) Olette their tab.</p><p>Riku hoped to get to the caverns entrance before noon, but it quickly became apparent that wasn't going to happen.</p><p>Kairi and Sora somehow managed to get distracted by every single market tent. They bought at least a dozen things that were not only not on the shopping list, but seemed to have no foreseeable purpose whatsoever. </p><p>After their walk around the market, in which Kairi bought several large bottles of dwarven wine, and Sora managed to learn the life story of every peddler he talked to, the three eventually made their way to the edge of the town.</p><p>The entrance to the underground tomb lay where the forest grew thickest, at the base of the Orleah mountains. It was only a few miles out from the market town, but it was easy to get lost the deeper in the forest you traveled.</p><p>Luckily, for the first two miles the group were able to take a path through a well traveled clearing. Riku led the way, map in hand, occasionally checking the landmarks to confirm they were traveling the same way he had gone yesterday.</p><p>Kairi and Sora walked a few paces behind him, talking, laughing and sharing stories. It wasn't long before Sora took out his fiddle, and handed Kairi the hand drum.</p><p>The two began to sing a sailor's shanty about a woman named the Ruby of the Sea. It was an energetic and lively song. Sora played it well, his voice making the lyrics sound heartfelt and earnest. Kairi kept on beat for the most part, and her singing was mostly in tune.</p><p>It was a little distracting, but Riku also found it… nice. Sora's voice rang out through the treetops, but it didn't seem out of place. The wind seemed to sway in time with the song, and birds flitted from branch to branch, as if trying to get closer to better hear the melody. </p><p>After a half hour, however, the song started to get old. Riku wasn't sure if this was the longest sea-shanty in the region, or if Kairi and Sora were starting to make up verses as they went.</p><p>As time went on, Riku discovered the latter to be true. The verses began to get stranger, and stopped rhyming altogether. Not to mention the lyrics had gone from serenading the majesty of being graced with the Ruby's company, to simply referring to her as the ‘best lay ever.’ </p><p>Riku stopped in his tracks and turned around to the two.</p><p>“Do you two know any other songs?” He ventured to ask.</p><p>Sora gave an enthusiastic nod, but Kairi gave a shrug. “A couple, but not as well,” she told him.</p><p>Sora grinned. “Well, now's as good a time as any to learn!”</p><p>Riku couldn't help but think the opposite was true. Nonetheless, he was grateful for some diversity in the music. Even if Kairi was struggling to stay on beat, and Sora kept pausing to give her feedback.</p><p>By the time the three had left the forest path, however, Sora and Kairi seemed to have descended into madness. The two were cackling, as Sora, now holding the drum, skillfully played a complicated beat. Kairi now held the fiddle and played a staggering, screeching melody.</p><p>“How are we sounding?” Kairi asked Riku, her voice breathless with laughter.</p><p>Riku merely gave a grunt of acknowledgement. The two began to laugh harder. Riku wondered if he would have been better off alone.</p><p>Thankfully as the terrain became more difficult, the two became somber again. Sora had re-tied his instruments to his person, and had opted for merely humming. Kairi scanned the treeline suspiciously, slender fingers tapping on the hilt of her sheathed rapier.</p><p>The walk soon became a trek. The forest ambience dwindled into rustling silence. The canopy overhead became thick, blocking out the cheerful daylight. The trees grew gnarled and thick, and the foliage needed to be hacked at with a longsword to gain entrance. Despite the fact Riku had just done so yesterday.</p><p>“Did this all grow back overnight?” Kairi asked, noticing Riku frowning in concentration.</p><p>“Must have.” Riku couldn't say he was too surprised. Considering the rest of the forest, the plants here didn't seem normal. He pulled out his broadsword, Dawnbringer, and began to hack his way through the thicket.</p><p><i>“Spooky~”</i> Sora hummed.</p><p>“When the trees give way to brambles, we'll know we're getting close,” Riku told them.</p><p>As if on cue, the heavy branch Riku cut swung down, revealing a wall of thorns. The vines looked inorganic, wrapping around eachother too meticulously for natural plants. Plus, they were razor sharp, and even began to shift a bit, as if acknowledging the trio’s presence.</p><p>Kairi and Sora seemed disturbed at the scene, but Riku merely began slicing through the foliage. After a moment, the other two followed suit. They hacked their way, the ground sloping down, the vines growing higher and thicker the deeper in they went.</p><p>Kairi helped slash the edges with her rapier, and Sora did what he could with his small dagger. The two struggled to make much of a dent, but even still their help allowed Riku to make his way through a little faster than he had the day before. </p><p>In less than an hour, the three tumbled out of the vines and into the clearing. </p><p>The contrast from the forest was stark. The vines towered up overhead, blocking out the rest of the forest. The ground looked like it had the life sucked out of it. There was no grass or plants, just ashy dirt and rocks. In the center of it all stood two pillars and a small statue of a woman holding a bowl.</p><p>Sora gave a loud shiver and hugged himself tight.</p><p>“That’s what you get for dressing so scantily, dummy,” Kairi told her friend smugly, sheathing her blade.</p><p>Sora shook his head. “No. It’s not that… It’s this place.” Sora looked nervously around the clearing. “It’s sick.”</p><p>The smarmy grin slipped off Kairi’s face. “Can you feel ghosts and stuff?”</p><p>Sora hesitated, then shook his head again.  “I feel something. Something ill, deep below us.”</p><p>Riku raised his eyebrows, giving Kairi a look. She returned it. Whatever Sora sensed, the other two were blind to. Sure, the clearing was creepy, but there was no other presence besides theirs.</p><p>“Nah, I think you’re just cold,” Kairi said again. Sora shot her a glare.</p><p>Riku cleared his throat before the two started bickering. They turned to look at him.</p><p>“This is the entrance to the tombs,” Riku told them. He gestured at the statue.</p><p>It was marble white, a strange look in the dim around them. It was also clean and smooth, as if it hadn’t been waiting here for years. </p><p>It’s glittering surface depicted a young woman. She was human, crouching down and holding the bowl above her head. She had delicate curls falling past her shoulders. Her dress was thin and clung to her feminine form, accenting her breasts and waist. A small triangular necklace decorated her delicate neck. </p><p>She was beautiful, but she had a strange expression. Her eyes were shut, and her mouth ever so slightly open. She looked sad, almost scared. Like she too could feel in the air what Sora sensed.</p><p>“Nice rack,” Kairi said in approval of the statue. Sora gave a small snort of laughter.</p><p>“She needs a virgin blood sacrifice to reveal the opening,” Riku informed them, ignoring Kairi’s remark.</p><p>Kairi clicked her tongue and Sora frowned.</p><p>“Sorry, pal. My blood’s no good,” Kairi told him.</p><p> “Same here,” Sora sighed. “You’re a couple years too late, I’m afraid.”</p><p>Riku rolled his eyes. “A virgin <i>blood</i> sacrifice. Get your minds out of the gutter.” </p><p>In unison, the two tilted their heads in confusion.</p><p>Exasperated, Riku explained, “As in blood that’s never filled the bowl before. To prevent re-entry.” Riku pointed at the bowl. “I filled it yesterday, so in this instance, I’m actually the only one here who can’t fill it.”</p><p>Sora’s interest piqued. “In this instance?” he asked.</p><p>Riku could feel his cheeks heat up. He pressed his hand over his face, not wanting to look at the two of them. </p><p>“Someone just bleed into the damn bowl, please,” he grunted.</p><p>“Alright, alright,” Kairi snapped. She stepped forward and pulled out a tiny knife from her belt. She looked over herself, as if considering the least inconvenient place for a wound. In the end, she pressed the blade into her bicep, slicing her flesh and allowing the blood to seep into the statue. </p><p>Sora took a piece of cloth out of his bag and hurried over to Kairi, quickly wrapping the wound before it bled out more than necessary. Then the three waited.</p><p>The blood swirled around in the bowl, then started seeping into it, disappearing from sight.</p><p>“Wha-?” Kairi started to ask, but the statue answered before Riku could. The red liquid began to trickle out of the woman’s eyes and open mouth, splashing down onto the ground in front of her.</p><p>Sora groaned, squeezing his eyes shut tight to avoid the sight of the blood.</p><p>The earth beneath them gave a small shiver. Then the blood turned black, spreading out in a square in front of the statue. Within a moment, the entrance opened and they could see the stairs leading down into the darkness.</p><p><i>“Necromancers,”</i> Kairi grumbled to herself, clearly unimpressed with the theatrics. Without hesitation, she hopped down first. Riku clambered in second, but stopped. He looked up at Sora.</p><p>“Are you alright?” he asked.</p><p>Sora nodded, but still looked a little pale.</p><p>Riku frowned. “If the sight of blood bothers you so much, you might be safer staying here.”</p><p>“It’s people blood that I hate,” Sora explained. He climbed down into the entrance next to Riku. “I’ll be fine with ooey gooey zombies and stuff.” He knocked a fist against his puffed out chest. “I’m tough.”</p><p>Riku put his hand on Sora’s shoulder. Sora looked at the hand, and then at Riku.</p><p>“Are you sure you’re okay?”</p><p>“Aww,” Sora cooed. “I’ve got a big tough guy looking after me, why wouldn’t I be?”</p><p>Riku’s hand quickly retracted to his side. “You don’t need to tease me.”</p><p>“I’m not!” Sora told him earnestly. Riku didn’t believe him. Sora’s expression turned sour.</p><p> “I appreciate the concern. But I’ll be fine.” With a stubborn swish of his tail, Sora began to make his way down the stairs. Riku hesitated, then followed.</p><p>The hall was slightly lit by the daylight from outside, but the world around them lurched, and with a creak Riku heard the entrance close again. Now there was no outside light. Every dozen steps the walls held small torches, glowing green with a sickly everflame. The eerie verdant light washed the stone walls, adding to the chilling atmosphere.</p><p>Kairi was waiting for the two at the base of the steps.</p><p>“Can we all see okay?” she asked. “Or do any of you guys have shitty human vision?”</p><p>“I can see fine,” Sora told her. Riku agreed.</p><p>“Good.” She nodded. “That way none of us have to lug around a torch.” With her hand on the weapon at her hip, she did a small circle around the cavern.</p><p>“It looks like there was a trap here,” she told them. “But it’s deactivated. Someone set it off, I think.”</p><p>Riku sighed. “That would have been me.” After Sora’s help and some sleep he was starting to feel better, but his stomach was still a little tender.</p><p>“Nice! One less thing to worry about then,” Kairi said. She went deeper into the cave. </p><p>The trio continued. The hall sloped down gradually as they walked, bringing their path deeper and deeper under the mountains. Maybe Riku was imagining it, but the ceiling above him began to feel heavier.</p><p>It was hard to keep track of time in the quivering darkness, but it felt as if two hours passed before anyone spoke again.</p><p>“Do you know what we should expect to see down here?” Sora asked as they walked.</p><p>Riku shrugged. “Traps. Probably skeletons. Maybe a maze.”</p><p>“There’s all sorts of rumors on what Maleficent has got down here,” Kairi mused. “Dragons and demons and a labyrinth of death from which there is no escape.”</p><p>“Probably,” Riku agreed. Sora seemed interested at the prospect, rather than scared.</p><p>“How far did you get yesterday, Riku?” Kairi questioned.</p><p>Riku looked around the room. The paved walls had given way into a more natural tunnel. Some of the age of the cavern began to show, in cracks throughout the walls and water dripping from the ceiling. </p><p>“Not too far past the entrance, to be honest."</p><p>“Then everything from here on out,” Sora began, squinting into the darkness ahead of them. “Is a mystery.”</p><p>A rattling groan sounded in the darkness in front of them. In an attest to everyone’s expertise, weapons (and in Sora’s case, his fiddle) were drawn within the blink of an eye.</p><p>A heavy scent of death filled the air. It choked at Riku, making it hard to breathe. The fumes were nauseating, a bit like being underwater. A quick glance at Kairi’s woozy expression and Riku knew it wasn’t just him.</p><p>Tentatively, Sora began to play behind them. A simple, lilting melody that cut through the dark ambiance. Within a few seconds after playing, Riku’s head began to clear.</p><p>“Thanks,” Riku told him. Sora gave a small nod before looking back down at his instrument, his brow furrowed in concentration.</p><p>Kairi’s shoulders relaxed, but she still held out her rapier. “Stay on guard,” she told them, a little unnecessarily. Riku stepped forward to take the lead. Kairi moved to the side, allowing him.</p><p>The path continued onward, looking indistinguishable from their current surroundings. But something in the distance seemed off. Riku squinted. At the very edge of his vision, the ground seemed to be rippling.</p><p>Kairi peered over his shoulder. “Do you see anything?”</p><p>“Not sure,” Riku replied. “Might be nothing.”</p><p>“Judging from our surroundings, it’s probably something,” Kairi said.</p><p>Riku grimaced. “True.”</p><p>Alert, the three continued to make their way forward. Not before long, Riku was able to clearly see what had moved in the distance. There was a large stone archway, lit by more green torches over an ornate metal door. In front of that was a rope bridge hanging over a pool of still water.</p><p>Sora walked up to the bridge and peered down into the water. He halted in his playing.</p><p>“Yeesh. Looks cold,” Sora grumbled. His elf-like ears pulled back, looking like an annoyed cat. “I’d hate to fall in that.”</p><p>Kairi walked up behind him, and placed her hand on the small of his back. She gave him a small nudge and Sora gave a garbled cry of “Kah-ai-<i>RIE!”</i> He desperately flailed his arms, trying to regain his balance.</p><p>Once he had steadied himself, the tiefling whirled around and gave his friend an angry shove.</p><p>“I’m just playing,” she whined, rubbing the spot he had hit. “I wasn’t really gonna push you in.”</p><p>With a bit back groan of annoyance, Riku walked past them onto the bridge.</p><p>“Oh- Be careful!” Sora called. Riku nodded. He tested his weight on the first wood slat. The ropes tensed from the weight, but the wood remained inflexible.</p><p>“If it can hold me, it should be safe for you two,” Riku told them. He carefully began to make his way, step-by-step. The bridge was as steady as a rope bridge could be, but it still swung unnervingly as he walked. After a careful minute, Riku was safe on the other side.</p><p>Kairi went next. She was far more graceful than Riku had been. The bridge barely moved under her weight. With a dexterous leap, she pounced over the end and onto the other side of the shore.</p><p>“It’s totally safe,” she called back to Sora. Then she turned around to investigate the door. Figuring it would be fine to leave Sora to his own devices, Riku joined her.</p><p>Muttering to herself, Kairi paced back and forth in front of it. The metal was carved, depicting shapes and spirals, with gems embedded into its frame. Beyond that, it seemed normal to Riku. But Kairi sat down in front of it, continuing to obsessively look it up and down.</p><p>“Do yo-?” Riku began to ask, but was cut off by a sharp noise.</p><p>There was a crack of wood, and a loud splash of water followed by a strangled yelp.</p><p>Riku quickly spun around. For a second it seemed as if Sora merely slipped, his leg dangling between the wooden slats. Then Riku noticed the slimy black hands clutching onto Sora’s leg.</p><p>Within an instant Kairi sprung up and ran towards her friend, but Riku got there first. Sora quickly latched onto the other man, as the strength of the hands began to try and pull him down harder. Sora gave out a cry of panic as his foot was yanked beneath the surface. He grasped tight around Riku’s middle.</p><p>The half-orc grabbed onto Sora as best he could and pulled, hauling the tiefling forward until all of him was back on the bridge. Riku unsheathed his sword and swung down hard. With a sickening crack, the steel collided with the bony wrists, shattering them. Sora quickly kicked his leg free from the armless hands that still clung to his ankle.</p><p>“Thank you,” Sora exhaled breathlessly. Without reply, Riku grabbed under Sora’s armpit and hoisted him up, then quickly made his way to the other side of the bridge.</p><p>Sora scrambled back onto his feet, whipping out his instrument again. The three stared down at the water, poised, ready to strike.</p><p>The water shifted slightly from where the hand had first emerged, but then grew still. Then, a second later, the surface began to rapidly bubble. A dozen small forms began to climb up onto the shore. The putrid stench of death quickly filled the air as the undead began to amble towards them. Kairi, rapier in hand, looked around the rocky cavern walls hurriedly. Then, she made a dash and was gone from sight.</p><p>Riku spun around, momentarily distracted by the half-elf’s sudden disappearance. In the moment of confusion, he felt himself seized. One of the undead grasped his arm.</p><p>Face-to-face now, Riku got a good look at the creature before him. It was mostly a skeletal frame, covered in a curtain of black moss, reeking of rot. Some organic matter still clung to the skeleton, slimey, grey, decomposing flesh sloughing off it’s body as it struggled to maintain its grasp on the half-orc.</p><p>With his free hand not holding the sword, Riku grabbed the undead’s throat, the sharp vertebrae of its neck piercing into his hand. Riku hissed, gritting his teeth in pain as he clenched as hard as he could, trying to snap the bone. But it was to no avail. The creature raised it’s free hand and scratched painfully across Riku’s face, overgrown yellow nails cutting into his skin.</p><p>Riku staggered, trying to pull back when an object came flying into his field of view. Sora whacked his fiddle over the skeleton’s head, causing enough confusion for Riku to pull free his armed hand and swing Dawnbringer into the skeleton’s ribs. </p><p>The sword tore into the creature, slashing through whatever leftover viscera remained, splattering Sora and Riku with intestinal slush. The undead’s spine began to collapse, and whatever dark magic animated it slipped away as it fell, becoming just a regular, waterlogged corpse.</p><p>Riku barely had a moment to recover, wiping the rot of his face and looking around. Several more were advancing on them. The air was filled with a nauseating odor, and the cavern was deafeningly loud with the echoing reverb of moans and revolting cracks of bone.</p><p>Riku tried to steady himself, but his head was already starting to spin. He wasn’t sure where to attack next, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of undead ambling towards them.</p><p>Then a noise cut across the din. The clear, confident melody of the fiddle. The refrain was quick, spirited, and emboldening, drowning out the commotion.</p><p>Riku had hardly seconds to spare, but still shot a glance behind him to Sora. The tiefling eyes were shut, but his face relaxed and his posture assured. He had the fiddle tucked under his chin, and his fingers plucked at with such impossible speed they were merely a blur while his bow flew artfully back and forth across the neck.</p><p>Invigorated, Riku spun back to face the approaching hoard. He planted his feet in the sand, squared his shoulders, and charged. </p><p>Riku quickly found the undead to be frail, only a slash or two required to bring them down. But the amount still proved to be a problem.  </p><p>Chest heaving from exertion, Riku continued to cleave through the hoard.</p><p>Undead after undead crumpled to the ground, and yet there was always another just behind it.</p><p>Riku brought down his blade, carving through the shoulder of a particularly intact skeleton, with enough recognizable features to be placed as a gnoll. A fleshy ear and yellowed eye still clung to it’s skull. The sword crunched, grinding to a halt in the creature’s chest. Immediately in his periphery Riky saw another zombie rearing it’s claws back to slash at him. A brief moment of panic overtook Riku, instinctively knowing he wouldn’t be able to pull his weapon free in time to parry the blow. </p><p>Riku shut his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable pain. But a moment passed, and it didn't come. Only a loud thud followed by a crunch. Riku opened his eyes.</p><p>Kairi had pounced from the shadows and sliced the opposing undead. Riku hadn’t caught sight of her since before the fight began, but judging by the filth on her armour and blade, she had been busy.</p><p>“Thanks,” Riku panted.</p><p>Kairi gave a quick nod and salute, turning on her heel to flank alongside Riku. Her long, red braid swished behind her.</p><p>The two stood side by side as even more figures shambled out from the water’s depth. Riku gritted his teeth, he could feel his resolve slipping. They seemed to have made no dent in the hoard. </p><p>Then, seamlessly, the melody changed. The chords became harsher, more frenzied. The ground just before the two began to glow, then ignited with a brilliant violet flame. It quickly roared to life, towering over Riku and Kairi, the heat blowing their hair back. Then the wall rushed forward, charring the ranks of the undead.</p><p>The wall of fire pushed through and then, just as quickly as it came, disappeared as it hit the water. In its path lay the undead, now just a pile of singed corpses. The music came to a halt, and Riku turned to Sora.</p><p>Sora looked pale, soaked with sweat. No longer was his posture confident, he was starting to droop. His eyes blinked open and looked around the shore.</p><p>“Is that the last of them?” he asked.</p><p>Riku gave a tentative nod.</p><p><i>“Woof!”</i> Kairi groaned, “That was a hell of a workout!”</p><p>Sora reattached his instrument to his person, eyes cast down at his hip as he tied his bow. He went to take a step towards them, and then froze. He must have sensed the presence behind him right as Riku spotted it. The dark silhouette lunged from the shadows.</p><p>Riku and Kairi sprung forward at the same time. Kairi slashed with her rapier, and Riku grabbed Sora around the middle, hoisting him up and out of the way of the coming claws.</p><p>“Okay,” Kairi told them, “I think <i>that</i> was the last one.” She stuck her blade into the limp corpse for good measure, and was met with a loud crunch.</p><p>Confident the danger was gone, Riku looked back down at the man he had scooped up in his arms. Sora looked content enough, despite just narrowly avoiding injury. He looked back up at Riku, and then grinned.</p><p>“Thanks,” Sora said.</p><p>“Y-yeah,” Riku replied, feeling embarrassed, but unsure why.</p><p>Sora leaned his head against Riku’s armour, relaxing into the grasp. Suddenly their position felt less like a rescue and more like an embrace. Sora reached up a hand and combed it through the hair that had fallen loose from Riku’s bun.</p><p>“You have some intestine in your hair,” Sora fondly informed him, plucking the chunk of meat out of Riku’s bangs.</p><p>“Thank you,” Riku croaked, feeling his face flush. </p><p>Sora’s bright blue eyes blinked up at him, incredibly distracting. After dropping the piece of viscera, Sora reached up his hand again. This time, when he touched Riku’s wound, there was no pain at the contact. Just Sora’s soft, warm hand against the scratch on Riku’s cheek. </p><p>Even after the magic left, Sora’s hand, and the warmth, remained.</p><p>“Hey, <i>lovebirds!”</i> </p><p>Kairi’s shrill voice cut through the quiet moment. Panicked, Riku’s entire body ignited as he blushed and he dropped Sora.</p><p>There was a surprised yelp and a soft thud as Sora landed on the sand. Riku quickly regained his composure and crouched down, checking to see if he had hurt the other man.</p><p>Sora, however, seemed to be fine. He was rubbing at the back of his head, chuckling.</p><p>“You’re so <i>weird,”</i> Sora wheezed. Riku offered no response, sans holding out a hand to help Sora up and feeling his cheeks turn a shade redder. After a moment more of cackling, Sora took the hand and stood up. The two walked over to join Kairi.</p><p>Her arms were crossed, and her expression smug. She quirked an eyebrow at Sora, and he merely pursed his lips in response, looking amused.</p><p>Riku cleared his throat. “What did you need from us, Kairi?”</p><p>Without turning, she reached out and grabbed the handle of the ornate door, and pulled. With a creak, it lazily swung forward.</p><p>She jabbed out her thumb to point at the entrance. “Got the door open.” She looked over the two of them. “No thanks to you two ding-dongs.”</p><p>“Nice!” Sora cheered.</p><p>The group walked through. The other side was like a different world. No longer did the cave look natural, it was clearly man-made. The walls were smooth, black marble covered in glyphs. The ground was paved brick. In front of them stood columns of bright green flame flanking the entrance to a labyrinth.</p><p>Beyond that, the room was empty, about the size of the restaurant from the inn. The door behind them slammed shut. A gust of wind washed over the trio, chilling Riku and causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on an end.</p><p><i>“I’ve been expecting you,”</i> a cold voice whispered. It sounded as if the speaker was a mere inch from Riku. He could feel it’s icy breath against his ear. Riku quickly spun around, looking for the voice’s owner, but only Kairi and Sora were beside him. And judging from their expressions, they had just heard it too.</p><p>“Ughh,” Kairi groaned. <i>“Necromancers.”</i></p><p>“Should we just call it a night here?” Sora cheerfully asked.</p><p>Riku nodded. He certainly didn’t have much energy left to push forward.</p><p>Sora and Kairi made quick work, building their own little camp. They placed their bedrolls side by side and began wiping the filth off their bodies. Kairi even brought out a small stone pot which she lit a fire in, and then placed a grill over. </p><p>Riku placed his own bedroll down on the opposite side of the room. He took off his armour and cleaned the sludge off his own body. Then he sat down on his sleeping bag and began digging around in his bag for his pouch of dried meat and nuts, and tried to ignore that whatever Kairi was cooking smelled delicious. </p><p>Busy with rummaging through his haversack, Riku didn’t notice Sora’s arrival until he was tapped on the shoulder.</p><p>Riku looked up at the tiefling. “Yes?”</p><p>“Can I sit with you?” Sora asked.</p><p>Riku blinked. The question had taken him by surprise. Sora apparently took that as a yes, and sat down beside him.</p><p>“I’m sorry we’re so annoying.” Sora rubbed at his nose with a sheepish grin. “We don’t mean to third-wheel you or anything, we’ve just known eachother a really long time.”</p><p>“That’s fine,” Riku told him with a shrug.</p><p>“No, it’s not!” Sora pouted. “We’re going to be here for awhile, so I think we should all get to know eachother.”</p><p>Riku was quiet for a moment. He looked down at his own hands. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” he began. “But I’m not very good at ‘people.’”</p><p>Sora gave him a warm smile. “No people here, jus’ a couple of wild animals.”</p><p>Riku cast an uncertain glance behind Sora, at the cozy little camp the two had made.</p><p>“C’mon, will you join us for dinner?” Sora asked. “We want to get to know you better.” Sora looked down, averting his gaze. “<i>I’d</i> like to get to know you better.”</p><p>Sora stood back up. This time, he offered his hand out, to help Riku up.</p><p>After a moment’s hesitation, Riku took it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>tweeter for updates: https://twitter.com/SnailVape<br/>hope yall are enjoying this fic, and staying safe &lt;3<br/>anyone catch the critical role reference? ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Ghost Bitch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Riku awoke to the dark chamber. It was incredibly disorientating. He had been expecting sunshine.</p>
<p>There were sounds of rummaging behind him, Kairi and Sora apparently already up. There had been some discussion the night before about possibly setting up a watch system, but Riku had been outvoted. Sora pointed out that if something was going to attack them, they were trapped either way. And Kairi announced that if she was put on watch, she would just fall back asleep. In the end, they all made it through the night okay.</p>
<p>After a quick breakfast of trail rations, the trio finished packing up. Then they all stared ahead at the columns of fire. “Today, we brave the labyrinth,” Kairi mused aloud. Sora gave a brave nod.</p>
<p>Without preamble, the group walked past the columns, and into the maze. The walls gave a shudder, and grinded shut behind them. A three pronged path waited before them. </p>
<p>“So, we each split up and take one way?” Sora suggested. Riku was about to tell him that was the dumbest idea ever, that you <i>never</i> split up the party, but he stopped when he noticed Sora was grinning.</p>
<p>“Ha-ha,” Riku said dryly. “What’s your real idea?”</p>
<p>Sora quietly contemplated for a moment. “Always go left?”</p>
<p>Kairi shrugged. “Left it is.”</p>
<p>The left path stretched long and winding. It was several minutes of walking in unnerving silence before it opened up to another fork. The party shared a quick glance, before going left again. The pattern repeated. Left until a crossroads, left at the crossroads. The walls of smooth black marble and paved floor remained unchanging. They were given no indication of whether or not they were going the right way, or the wrong way, or if they were going anywhere at all.</p>
<p>Sora walked a few steps behind Riku and Kairi. His nose was in a small leather notebook, glancing up only to quickly assess the unchanging scenery before looking back down and scribbling notes. Riku slowed his pace by a few steps, falling in line with Sora.</p>
<p>“What are you writing?” Riku asked, curiosity getting the better of him.</p>
<p>Sora stared at the page intently. A few beats passed before he realized Riku had spoken to him. “Oh,” Sora blinked up. “I’m just trying to keep track of where we’re going.” Sora held up the page for Riku to see. In one column Sora listed every fork, and in the other the direction they had chosen to take. Currently just a page full of the letter ‘L’.</p>
<p>“It’ll be useful if we have to backtrack,” Sora added with a shrug. Riku nodded, impressed. He was taken aback by the clever idea, he wouldn’t have thought of doing something like that.</p>
<p>Sora glanced up. The hall had come to an end, opening to another fork. This time the only options were left or right. Kairi was gone. Riku frowned.</p>
<p>“She probably just went ahead of us,” Sora remarked. He jotted down another ‘L’ in the page and then snapped the book shut. Then he turned left. Riku followed, with less confidence. The hall was only a couple feet long before a sharp turn, but beyond that was indistinguishable from the rest of the maze. That, and the fact Kairi came running round the corner at full sprint with a terrified grimace on her face.</p>
<p>“Wha-!?” Sora started to ask.</p>
<p>“Nope!” She grabbed Sora’s arm with one hand and then Riku’s other as she ran past, dragging them along with her. “Run, run, run!”</p>
<p>Figuring this was an ask questions later scenario, Riku obliged. They sprinted straight ahead, back to the fork and ran straight, rather than waste time turning to zig-zag back the way they came. Once the other two were at pace, Kairi let go, sprinting a little further ahead. It was obvious she still had enough stamina to outstrip them, but to Riku’s surprise, didn’t.</p>
<p>The halls flew past, a blur of smooth marble. Riku tried as best he could to memorize the turns and intersections they passed. But his efforts proved futile.</p>
<p>“What are we running from Kairi?” Sora asked, breathless as he kept up with the elf’s impossible pace.</p>
<p>A deep, rattling growl echoed down the halls behind them.</p>
<p>“That,” Kairi called over her shoulder. Curiosity getting the best of him, Riku cautioned a glance back. </p>
<p>A huge beast was lumbering after them, large and skeletal. It had some features of a wolf left on the skin that hung limply to it’s frame, but it’s proportions were unnervingly wrong. It’s jaw was massive, elongated, and seemed to be broken open. It’s haunches pulled back above its head, spiked and poised. It’s tail swished behind it with agitation, splintered bone splaying out of it like a morningstar. </p>
<p>Riku’s feet faltered for a moment, but only a moment was enough for his party to be yards ahead of him and the creature to be only a stone’s throw behind him. Kairi’s head whipped around, and grimaced at what she saw. She gritted her teeth and stopped, turning on her heel, using her momentum to propel herself towards them.</p>
<p>Realizing combat was imminent, Riku planted his feet and unsheathed his longsword. Mirroring him, the creature dug its heels into the stone and came to a screeching halt, then reared back on its hind legs and slammed it’s gnarled paws into the ground.</p>
<p>Sora joined the two, but did not mimic their battle-ready stances. Instead he had a rather calm demeanor and curious expression. The creature reared back again, as if about to take a swipe at them. </p>
<p>Sora knelt down and began to take off his shoe. Riku spluttered, too taken aback to grab Sora and pull him out of the skeletal beast’s reach. Kairi was watching with a similarly horrified expression. However, before the creature lunged, Sora stood back up and chucked his shoe at the monster. The shoe went right through it, and clattered to the ground.</p>
<p>A beat passed, and the vision of the creature exploded into a cloud of ash.</p>
<p>“What- you didn’t check to see if it was real first?” Sora asked, a sigh in his voice as he went to retrieve his sandal.</p>
<p>“Wha-” Kairi’s mouth fell open. “I mean- what the fuck?! When was I supposed to do that?” She dragged a hand over her face. “How was I supposed to know that?!”</p>
<p>“It’s claws didn’t scratch the tile,” Sora told her, somewhat annoyed. Riku silently agreed with Kairi on this one. How was anyone supposed to notice that when they were busy running for their lives?</p>
<p>“Nevermind.” Sora shook his head. “It is what it is.”</p>
<p>It seemed to dawn on Kairi and Riku at the exact same moment. They were absolutely lost.</p>
<p>“Guess we have to do this the old fashioned way,” Kairi grumbled.</p>
<p>“Which is?” Riku asked, feeling nervous.</p>
<p>She sighed. “Wandering around aimlessly.”</p>
<p>And sure enough, that was how the three spent the rest of the day. They went deeper into the maze. Kairi took the lead, looking for traps, and Sora followed, eyes out for anything suspiciously arcane. Riku held up rear, making sure no threats came from behind them.</p>
<p>After what felt like hours, a battle with more skeletons, an explosive arrow trap Kairi had managed to trigger remotely with no harm to anyone, and more skeletons, Riku found himself out of breath. </p>
<p>“Can we rest for a moment?” Riku asked.</p>
<p>The other two looked worn, but did not share his exhaustion. The brunt of the melee combat had fallen on the fighter’s shoulders. Riku felt no envy at this fact, though he was embarrassed that he was the first to cave and need reprieve.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Sora said. “You’ve been working your ass off.”</p>
<p>“Sure,” Kairi agreed with a small shrug. “There’s no time limit.”</p>
<p>Riku bowed his head in acknowledgement. He felt his cheeks heat up, both from shame at his exhaustion, but also because of Sora’s praise. He staggered forward, ready to slump down against the wall, when suddenly Sora gave a small jump.</p>
<p>“Riku, wai-” he began, but it was a moment too late. Riku just barely grazed the wall when it opened up and he stumbled, something warm and slimey wrapping itself around his body.</p>
<p>He gave a startled cry, thrashing to break free, but his sword was sheathed and his flailing did little to alleviate the sudden grasp around his waist. Riku was yanked back, and saw what looked like two rows of sharp teeth clamping shut. Within a moment, he was submerged in a viscous slime and his surroundings were dark.</p>
<p>Riku fumbled, managing to get a grip on Dawnbringer, but his arms were pinned to his sides, and he had no leverage to unsheathe her. Panic truly began to overtake him as he helplessly kicked his legs.</p>
<p>The world around him shifted and he tumbled upside down. He felt a sharp pressure on his shoulder and ribcage that slammed down with a sickly crunch of metal. It hadn’t pierced his armour, but it hurt like <i>hell</i>. Riku resisted the urge to cry out and likely swallow a lungful of fluid in the process. Instead he bit down hard on his lip in a silent scream.</p>
<p>The pressure released, then bit back down onto him again. With an ice-cold bolt of dread, Riku realized that this must be the mouth of a creature. He stopped thrashing, paralyzed with fear.</p>
<p>Outside of the beast’s maws, Riku could make out muffled thuds and screams. His companions were clearly fighting to get the monster to open its jaw, but to no avail. Riku’s heart pounded painfully in his chest. How could he possibly get out?</p>
<p>Then, a shrill, ghostly note pierced through the din. Both Riku and the creature tensed up. The maw shot open, light pouring into the cavernous mouth. Through heavily blurred vision Riku could just make out a pink tongue tightly coiled around his waist and arms, and lines of large white teeth.</p>
<p>A hand roughly grasped Riku’s collar and gave a sharp yank as a blade pierced into the fleshy appendage that held Riku. Another tug, and he was free, clattering down onto the ground.</p>
<p>Kairi slashed again, attempting to sever the beast’s tongue. It roared in pain, flecks of spit flying out and splashing the three of them. Riku roughly wiped his eyes, his vision blurred by the salty saliva. When he opened them again, he saw the creature. It looked no different than the surrounding passage wall, except for the slitted orange eyes and giant open mouth.</p>
<p>With a spray of blood, Kairi successfully cut off the appendage. Riku attempted to climb to his feet to help, but his knees buckled beneath his weight, still too shell-shocked to be of use.</p>
<p>Sora still played the haunting, razor-sharp melody. His eyes were squeezed tight and his jaw set, as if the song was painful to play. With a jolt, Riku realized the exhausting melody was what was holding the creature in place. It trembled violently, visibly fighting against unseen restraints as Kairi slashed it’s body repeatedly with her rapier.</p>
<p>Just as Kairi lunged forward, stabbing through the beast with a deathblow, it roared and brought its teeth scraping down her side, Sora’s fiddle giving a sharp, off-key twang as the enchantment broke.</p>
<p>Kairi grit her teeth and grunted in pain, but her sword stuck through, and the creature howled. It’s visage shimmered and began to transform. The illusion of a wall faded away, and slowly the creature melted into a large puddle of grey slime, revealing a passageway behind it.</p>
<p>“Good riddance,” Kairi growled, clutching at her side. Something clattered to the ground. The half-elf and half-orc both whirled around to see Sora on his knees, struggling for breath.</p>
<p>“Sora?” Riku rasped, voice hoarse and vision still somewhat blurred.</p>
<p>“I’m fine,” he quickly replied. Shakily, he pulled himself back to his feet. His blue eyes turned to Riku, wide with concern and dull with exhaustion. “What about you?”</p>
<p>“Fine,” Riku echoed. He hurt like a bitch, but he was able to crawl back onto his feet. Besides, he didn’t dare encourage Sora to heal him. The bard looked as though he may topple over at any moment.</p>
<p>“Kairi?” Sora prompted.</p>
<p>She shared a look with Riku, and quickly removed her hands from her injured side. “Fine,” she grumbled. Riku realized she understood his thoughts and had wordlessly agreed. Sora needed to conserve the energy he had left, not waste it on them.</p>
<p>Sora looked like he wanted to argue, so instead Riku asked, “What was that?”</p>
<p>“A mimic,” Kairi informed him. “You spotted it, didn’t you Sora?”</p>
<p>Sora gave both of them a suspicious glare in turn, but continued, “Yes. It shifted at the last moment.”</p>
<p>Riku knew of mimics, but they often imitated small objects. A pen, a book, a tempting chest of gold. He had never heard of one large enough to become a stretch of the wall.</p>
<p>“Let’s keep going,” Kairi said through gritted teeth. Riku agreed, and though Sora continued to give the other two frustrated looks, followed without complaint.</p>
<p>The newly opened passage offered no twists or turns, just a straight stretch of hall. A few minutes of walking, and it gave way to a large chamber.</p>
<p>The room was no different than the rest of the maze, with the exception of a large ornate door in the center. It was huge, at least twice the height of Riku, and made of a fortified purple metal. It was decorated in glittering gemstones, and covered in glyphs Riku did not know, but felt ancient and evil.</p>
<p>“Is this the exit?” Riku voiced the question aloud.</p>
<p>Kairi limped forward, favoring her right side where the mimic had raked it’s teeth down her hip. She was glowering at the door. “It can’t be, that’s too easy,” she grumbled. </p>
<p>Riku, still covered in a layer of mimic-salvia and sporting a possibly bruised rib, wanted to protest the idea that anything they had done so far had been <i>too easy</i>. Though the door seemed to agree with Kairi.</p>
<p>A ghostly figure of a woman stepped through the metal obstacle. She was thin and delicate, a threadbare dress clinging to her figure and wearing a triangular necklace. She looked somewhat familiar.</p>
<p>“You have done well to make it this far,” she told them, lowering her head.</p>
<p>“Oh, fuck off,” Kairi spat. But Riku noticed that despite her gutsy remark the half-elf’s hair was standing on end.</p>
<p>The woman looked at Kairi, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss me, or my offer, Ms. Rineak.” Both Kairi and Sora tensed, looking worried. After a beat, Riku realized that must be Kairi’s surname, and the two were unnerved by the figure knowing it.</p>
<p>“I offer you an easy solution,” the woman continued. “All three of you are worse for wear, and you may not survive to open this door. Greater challenges yet lay ahead of you.”</p>
<p>Riku expected another smart remark from Kairi, but none came. He noticed her trembling. Instead, it was Sora who stepped forward. </p>
<p>“What is your offer?” The tiefling demanded. He stood firm, hand on his fiddle’s strap. He was eyeing the figure with distrust.</p>
<p>“Simple,” the woman replied. “One may go ahead unharmed, and the other two can turn back.”</p>
<p>“To leave?” Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.</p>
<p>The woman shook her head, smiling. “To stay,” she spread open her arms. “Forever.”</p>
<p>Before any of them had a chance to react, blood began to drip down from the figure's eyes and mouth. Riku realized with a jolt why she looked so familiar. She was the same woman depicted by the entrance statue.</p>
<p>Sora was the first to react. He placed a hand on Kairi’s shoulder. “I think we’re good,” he told the ghostly figure, voice level.</p>
<p>“Are you so sure?” the woman asked, tilting her head to the side. More blood gurgled out of her mouth as she spoke. Riku flinched, feeling unnerved. Sora turned a shade paler, but he stood firm. He nodded.</p>
<p>She smiled broadly. “Suite yourself,” she told them. “You need three keys to open the door. You’ll find them in the labyrinth, but they’ll cost you dearly.”</p>
<p>“Oh shut up,” Kairi grumbled, her usually light brown skin looking unusually white, making her freckles stand out. Sora squeezed her shoulder tighter.</p>
<p>“I’ll return with my offer at a later time,” the figure of the young woman told them. “Perhaps you will not be so quick to refuse me then.” She gave them a polite bow, and faded away. Though Riku realized, with a wave of nausea, the blood that splashed onto the smooth brick floor remained. An overwhelming smell of warm iron filled the chamber.</p>
<p>“Cool, cool,” Sora mutterted. A beat past, and then he doubled over, retching. Puke splashed onto the floor, joining the blood. Kairi made a noise of revulsion, quickly backing up to avoid getting any of the sick on her shoes.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” Sora mumbled, dragging a hand over his face, looking woozy.</p>
<p>Riku eyed over his two companions. They did look worse for wear. And he couldn’t imagine he looked any better.</p>
<p>“Perhaps we need a rest?” Riku voiced aloud.</p>
<p>“Not in here,” Sora requested, slumped against the wall, weakly hugging himself.</p>
<p>“No, not in here,” Riku agreed. “Sora, do you mind lending me your notebook?” Still dazed, Sora nodded. He slung his travel bag off one shoulder and grabbed the book, passing it to Riku. </p>
<p>“We’ll need to be able to find this place again once we have all the keys,” Riku explained. “So I’ll write the path we take away from here.”</p>
<p>Sora nodded, looking exhausted. “Thanks.”</p>
<p>There were claw marks under Sora’s right eye from who knows which fight of the day, red and puffy, that he had yet to heal. Riku wondered if Sora had even noticed, or worse, he simply did not have any energy left to treat himself.</p>
<p>Riku blanched, wondering how much more this labyrinth would take from them before they were able to leave.</p>
<p>By the time the three made a make-shift camp in one of the wider forks of the maze, the tiefling looked dead on his feet. Not that Riku and Kairi fared much better.</p>
<p>“We’ll all feel better in the morning,” Sora told them, voice heavy with sleep.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>True to the bard’s words, the next day brought renewed energy. Though perhaps not as much as Riku would have gotten from a proper sleep above ground. Sora, however, seemed back to his jovial self, and somehow that felt more important and motivating to Riku than whether or not he himself was rested.</p>
<p>The day also brought more challenges and many, many more skeleton battles.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>The trio came to a section of the maze that was more timeworn than the rest. There were cracks in the smooth monolith walls where soil began to seep in. They had been ambushed by a pack of skeletal wolves on the way here, but their bones were dry and brittle- easy to fight through, with minimal injuries to the group. This area of the maze was also much warmer than the rest.</p>
<p>The path continued, and the three began needing to step over chunks of decrepit walls, climb over mounds of dirt and rock, and even hack through some blackened, dried out vines that had tried to seep into the cavern to grow but died without any sustenance. The deeper they went, the hotter it became.</p>
<p>The three were soon panting, sweat dripping down their faces. Riku re-tied his hair, desperately trying any attempt to find relief from the overbearing heat. His bangs clung to his face, hair plastered to his drenched skin.</p>
<p>“Should we turn back?” Kairi asked with a pant. She was pulling at the collar of her leather armour, clearly trying to get some sort of circulation to her smoldering skin. As if on cue, a gush of hot, smoldering air pushed into them. Riku winced, feeling as if he was cooking in his metal outerwear, feeling the burn through his underclothing.</p>
<p>“Let’s go a bit farther,” Riku suggested, trying to sound less fatigued than he was. “It’s different from the rest of the maze, there may be something important here.”</p>
<p>Sora stood with his hands on his hips, not agreeing with either of them. Riku noticed with a start that the tiefling was staring at him. Without warning, Sora stepped forward and placed his hand directly onto Riku’s chest plate.</p>
<p>“<i>Ack!</i>” Sora cried, quickly pulling his hand back. The skin appeared pink and sore. Sora made a fist. A small glow of gold emitted, and when he untensed his hand, his skin was it’s normal color again.</p>
<p>“Why’d you touch it?” Riku spluttered. “It’s metal, of course it’s hot!”</p>
<p>“Why are you wearing it then, dummy?” Sora retorted. “You need to take that off before you go any further.” The thought alone made Riku feel naked.</p>
<p>“I’m not taking off my armour,” he snapped. “Kairi is fine and so am I.”</p>
<p>“Oh right,” Sora drawled. “Because when I want to cook an egg I put it in a leather pot.”</p>
<p>Riku huffed. He glanced over at Kairi to see what the half-elf thought of this argument. She merely shrugged. Clearly, she was not invested enough to choose a side.</p>
<p>“Well, either we’re going ahead without you, or you’re taking that off,” Sora told him with an air of finality.  With great annoyance, Riku recognized there was no simple solution to this other than to give the stubborn tiefling what he was asking for. </p>
<p>Riku began undoing the vambrace straps on his wrist, glaring at Sora. He didn’t break eye contact, (except for when he had to for the chest plate) until finally he had gotten off his greaves and cuisses.</p>
<p>Sora stared back with similar fervor, but unlike Riku, his gaze had no displeasure. He eyed Riku’s damp, sweaty undershirt and pants, wet and plasterted to Riku’s skin with an expression Riku didn’t recognize, but made him feel more naked than he was.</p>
<p>“Wow, Sora,” Kairi spoke, disrupting the tension and impromptu staring contest. “Maybe Riku should just get completely nude, huh?”</p>
<p>“That wouldn’t help at all,” Riku grumbled, wondering why she had suggested something so stupid and unhelpful.</p>
<p>“That’s right, some clothing is good against heat,” Sora said. But, despite agreeing with Riku, and for reasons beyond Riku’s understanding, his tail swished in disappointment.</p>
<p>The three continued their trek down the ruined pathway. Despite the hallway growing even more sweltering, Riku noticed he felt much better. But he was too disgruntled now, and perhaps a touch too proud, to admit Sora had been right.</p>
<p>Towards the end of the passage, the lighting changed. No longer was it the same monotone, dull green, but now a bright orange. When the three emerged into the next chamber, the reason became apparent. The floor they were standing on had given way, the edge crumbled into nothingness and about fifteen feet down was a straight drop into a massive, bubbling pool of magma.</p>
<p>Ruined columns stuck out at broken angles through the molten rock, and in the center of the lake of lava was a platform with a single pedestal. It was hard to make out from the distance and the shimmer heat-filled air, but Riku thought he saw the glint of a small metal object- a key?</p>
<p>“I think I see a key.” Kairi echoed Riku’s thoughts. Riku wondered if this was part of the original maze. It didn’t seem likely, considering the decay of this room. Riku winced. The destruction of the trial seemed to have also destroyed any chance at victory.</p>
<p>Kairi walked back and forth on the ledge, sizing up the gurgling lava below them. After a moment she stood up straight and tightened her braid.</p>
<p>“Yep,” she said with a nod. “I can get that.”</p>
<p>Riku’s eyes grew wide. <i>How?</i></p>
<p>The half-elf turned to her friend, a confident expression on her face. “Make me lucky, Sora!” She told him.</p>
<p>Sora grinned, and gave a mock-salute. Without hesitation, he pulled out his fiddle and positioned it. It appeared Riku was alone in thinking this was a horrible, hopeless effort.</p>
<p>Sora began to play an energetic melody, and Kairi walked backward from the edge, and then took a running leap off the ledge. Riku watched, breath caught in his throat, as she landed cat-like on one of the ruined pillars. She quickly scrambled to her feet, unharmed, and then jumped off to the next outcropping.</p>
<p>After three successful leaps, Riku began to relax, the tension leaving his body. He had underestimated the thief’s athleticism. </p>
<p>Before long, Kairi had made her way to the center platform. She called out something the boys couldn’t hear, and gave a thumbs up. Riku returned the motion, and Sora unable to gesture back, simply gave an enthusiastic nod.</p>
<p>The half-elf continued back, leaping from pillar to pillar. She scrambled up the side of a mostly in-tact one, bringing her high in the air, and then jumped off.</p>
<p>Riku stood at the edge, feet planted and arms braced to catch her. She landed gracefully with one foot on the ledge and grabbed onto Riku’s wrists, managing to pull herself all the way up.</p>
<p>Sora stopped playing. “Fuck yeah, Kai!” He cried.</p>
<p>“Take that, ghost bitch!” Kairi shouted, holding the key triumphantly over her head. She was utterly drenched in sweat, but no less jubilant for it. “Cost us dearly my ass!”</p>
<p>Riku smiled. A feeling of hope washed over him. Perhaps the most hopeful he had felt yet since entering the tomb. Reinvigorated, the trio made their way back down the passage. Riku stopped to redon his armour, not without another disappointed flick from Sora’s tail.</p>
<p>The good luck continued, as Riku read his notes of the way they came, and directed the trio down a new route. They encountered no enemies or traps, though this area of the maze became noticeably darker and more cavernous. Though unlike the lava chamber, this trainistion seemed more intentional. The man-made structures slowly gave way to a cave-like tunnel.</p>
<p>Stalactites hung from the ceiling, water droplets rolling down them and dripping into puddles on the floor, the sound echoing through the chamber.</p>
<p>“This looks like a great place to camp for the night!” Sora announced jovially. Still damp with sweat, the tiefling was clearly overjoyed to be somewhere cooler.</p>
<p>Riku nodded absent-mindedly, but strained his ears. He thought he could hear more water- rushing water, somewhere ahead of them. Sora charged ahead, invigorated. Kairi and Riku jogged to keep up.</p>
<p>There was a bend in the tunnel, and the two lost sight of him. But they could hear the loud yelp and splash that followed quite clearly. Sharing a panicked look, they ran after him.</p>
<p>Around the corner was a decent sized underground river, at least a few yards wide. Sora’s arms were visible flailing above the surface, splashing frantically. There was almost no current, so Sora seemed to be in no risk of being carried away. For a moment Riku wondered why the tiefling thrashed around so wildly, before remembering with a jolt that, while second nature to him, not everyone knew how to swim.</p>
<p>In his moment of hesitation, Kairi had already whipped off her bag and dove gracefully into the water, wrapping her arms around her friend. His panicked movements did not stop, and there was a loud <i>thwack</i> as the back of his hand slapped her across the nose.</p>
<p>“Calm down!” she snapped, struggling to keep the two of them above the water. “Calm down you <i>toddler.”</i></p>
<p>Riku pulled off his own bag and rushed to the water's edge. The half-elf began treading towards him, dragging along a flailing Sora. Riku stepped in too, finding he could stand and still have his nose above the surface. He grit his teeth as he submerged himself into the black, icey water. He reached out and grabbed Sora as well, and together the two pulled him out of the river.</p>
<p>Coughing and spluttering, Sora pulled himself across the stone ground.</p>
<p>“You’re fine, you baby,” Kairi groaned, rubbing sorely at her nose. Riku, however, pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes, found more sympathy for the drenched tiefling. He helped Sora back to his feet. Sora clung to him, shivering, tail straight up in the air and ears pulled back.</p>
<p>“Your stuff got soaked,” Riku told him, tugging on Sora’s backpack.</p>
<p>“O-oh,” Sora mumbled. “Yeah, guess so…” Sora took off his bag and placed it on the ground.</p>
<p>Kairi looked him up and down. Her shoulders relaxed. “Sorry,” she grumbled. “But that really hurt, Sora.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry too,” he said, teeth chattering. </p>
<p>“No, it’s okay,” Kairi told him. “I know how you feel about water.”</p>
<p>“You still shouldn’t have ran ahead,” Riku reminded him. “You’re lucky it was just water you fell into.”</p>
<p><i>“Just water,”</i> Sora scoffed, ears flicking in annoyance. </p>
<p>“It’s not just water to him,” Kairi agreed, smirking. She walked over to where she had tossed her bag onto the rocks and began digging through it. “I’ll get you some clothes.”</p>
<p>“Your bedroll’s drenched too,” Riku voiced, looking over the waterlogged supplies. “We’ll have to share mine.” He wasn’t sure why, but his heart skipped a beat at the thought.</p>
<p>Sora looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise. But there was something else in his expression too. It looked like excitement, but Riku figured he must be imagining things.</p>
<p>“Ooh!” Kairi grinned. “Or mine! It’ll be a sleepover!”</p>
<p>Riku turned beat red. “R-right,” he stuttered. “Or Kairi, of course.” </p>
<p>The two were friends, of course that was the logical solution. Riku was practically a stranger. Riku berated himself for being stupid enough to suggest it in the first place. Naturally Sora would feel more comfortable sleeping beside the half-elf.</p>
<p>Sora glowered at his friend. “With Riku is fine,” He informed her curtly. Both Riku and Kairi turned to him, a look of shared surprise. Then Kairi looked to Riku, and back to Sora. A look of understanding dawned on her face.</p>
<p>“Ohhh, right,” she nodded.</p>
<p>“It’s fine, Sora,” Riku told him, feeling embarrassed. “I’m not offended, I’m sure you’d feel more comfortable with your friend.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Sora’s face flushed, and he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “I guess you’re right.”</p>
<p>Kairi looked between the two of them, seemingly distraught. “Actually, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Kairi began. “I think Sora, uh, can’t share with me.”</p>
<p>“Can’t?” Riku echoed, eyebrows raised.</p>
<p>“That’s right I can’t!” Sora repeated eagerly. He shot Kairi a pleading look. </p>
<p>She was quiet for a moment, then blurted out, “Because of his allergies!”</p>
<p>“Allergies?”</p>
<p>“That’s right!” Sora cried. “My allergies.”</p>
<p>“Your allergies?” Riku said again, utterly bewildered.</p>
<p>“His allergies,” Kairi told Riku firmly.</p>
<p>“That’s right,” Sora agreed. “I’m super allergic to half-elves.” On cue, he sneezed loudly. “See?”</p>
<p>“S<i>oo</i> allergic.” Kairi nodded enthusiastically. “I can’t believe I forgot about your allergies, Sora! Guess you and Riku need to share a bedroll after all then.”</p>
<p>Sora nodded. Apparently, all was settled in their eyes. Riku merely stared on in complete confusion.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Riku, freshly rinsed in the river and dressed in a new set of clothing crawled into his bedroll, trying to make sense of what had just happened. It was obvious the two were lying so that Sora would spend the night with him. But Riku couldn’t imagine for the life of him <i>why.</i></p>
<p>He shook his head. It was beyond him, whatever it was. He couldn’t figure it out. So instead he just tried to make himself comfortable. But now his heart was back to beating erratically and his face felt flushed.</p>
<p>Sora crouched down beside him, hair damp and beads of water dripping down his neck. The tiefling had rinsed in the river as well, this time purposefully, sitting at the water’s edge and toweling himself off. Apparently, he was fine with water so long as he wasn’t actively submerged in it.</p>
<p>Sora was dressed in Kairi’s clothing. His shirt rode up, revealing his toned abdomen, and the pants stopped mid-calf. But it wasn’t any more naked than he usually dressed.</p>
<p>“Is this okay?” Sora asked. Riku nodded. He hoped Sora couldn’t hear the way his heart was threatening to crack his own rib cage. Though Riku realized with a jolt, Sora might be able to feel it in a second.</p>
<p>Sora pulled back the cover, slipping into the sleeping bag beside him. When Riku had suggested the scenario, it hadn’t occurred to him there would be no room in the sleep sack for both Riku’s large frame and another person. Rather than laying beside him, Sora gingerly crawled onto Riku.</p>
<p>Riku lay on his back, and Sora on his stomach. He crossed his arms over Riku’s chest, and nuzzled into the crook of his elbow. He felt unbelievably warm somehow, despite still being damp from the river. Riku’s skin burned.</p>
<p>“Your heart’s pounding,” Sora murmured softly. Riku tensed, cursing his body for betraying the information</p>
<p>“This is more close quarters then I’m used to,” Riku admitted. </p>
<p>Sora pulled his head up, looking at Riku with concern. “If this is too much, I can bunk with Kairi.”</p>
<p>“What about your half-elf allergies?” Riku asked, surprised.</p>
<p>“Ah. Right. My allergies.” Sora appeared caught off guard. “They’re… not that bad. I was exaggerating. If you’re not comfortable-”</p>
<p>“No-” Riku cut him off. He could tell his face must be bright red, but continued. “This is fine- Really.”</p>
<p>A smile spread over Sora’s face. “Okay,” he said. “Good.”</p>
<p>With that settled, Sora rested his head again. He shifted, and something slithered up the back of Riku’s shirt, almost causing Riku to scream, before he realized it was the tieflings tail.</p>
<p>Riku watched Sora’s chest rise and fall, eyelids gently fluttering as his breathing became slower and relaxed. His still-damp hair clung to his face, and a bead of river water dripped down the bridge of his nose.</p>
<p>Riku exhaled shakily. </p>
<p>How the <i>fuck</i> was he supposed to sleep?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hope yall are staying safe and enjoying! thanks so much for reading &lt;3</p>
<p>my tweeter: https://twitter.com/SnailVape </p>
<p>i post some art stuff here, but 99% is just fanfic updates</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Aristocratic Cuck</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Riku supposed he must have fallen asleep at some point, because he awoke to find Sora, still curled up on his chest like a cat. Blearily he blinked the sleep from his eyes. Doing his best not to disturb the sleeping tiefling, he shifted to prop himself up on his elbows. Looking around, they were still in the dim cavern. There was no light source, Riku relied mostly on his natural darkvision. He wondered if this was even supposed to still be part of the labyrinth. It felt so natural and peaceful.</p>
<p>“He’s one of the good ones, you know.”</p>
<p>Kairi’s voice startled Riku. He turned to see the half-elf on her knees, busied with re-packing her camping supplies. “They don’t make ‘em like that anymore,” she continued. There was a smile in her eyes.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” Riku admitted.</p>
<p>She rolled her eyes. “You know he’s not actually allergic to half-elves, right?”</p>
<p>Riku nodded. That, at least, he knew had been a lie.</p>
<p>“He likes you, ding-dong,” Kairi told him, a hint of amusement in her voice.</p>
<p>Riku spluttered, and felt himself instantly turn bright red. He coughed, clearing his throat. “I think you must be mistaken.”</p>
<p>Kairi stood up, hands on her hips. “And I think <i>you</i> have been alone for too long.”</p>
<p>The words stung. It was true, Riku couldn’t remember the last time he had been this close to another person. When he thought about it, he couldn’t even remember the last time he laughed. And yet Sora had managed to make him do so more times this week than he had in a year.</p>
<p>Even when the two argued, even when the tiefling’s brash and stubborn nature got on his nerves, Riku couldn’t remember the last time he felt so happy. He had spent so long avoiding others, he hadn’t even realized what he may have been missing out on.</p>
<p>Sora stirred in his sleep, eyebrows knitting together slightly. A lump formed in Riku’s throat. What would things be like after this job ended? Somehow, the thought of going on alone, as he always had, <i>without Sora,</i> made him feel surprisingly lost. He hadn’t noticed how much affection for the tiefling he had developed in such a short period of time.</p>
<p>“Well, just don’t break his heart.” Kairi’s voice brought Riku abruptly out of his thoughts. The half-elf stood over him, grinning widely, a gleam in her eyes. “Or I’ll have to kill you.”</p>
<p>Riku tensed, shooting her a horrified look. The thief roared with laughter, echoing off the stone walls and reverberating through the cavern. But Riku knew she wasn’t joking.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>A half-hour later Sora was awake, the three were packed, and Riku’s heart was nearly settled down enough to be back to a normal rhythm.</p>
<p>The trio decided to continue to search the cavern. Even if it held no useful information to the labyrinth, it was nice to be somewhere else. Rather than oppressive silence broken only by the ghostly rattling of bones in the distance, it was the gentle sound of flowing water, and droplets echoing as they splashed into puddles.</p>
<p>The party crossed another river, Kairi holding everyone’s gear over her head as she kicked her way across, careful not to allow any more bedding to get wet. Riku, half-amused, half-annoyed, and a little endeared, carried a hissing Sora on his back.</p>
<p>On the other side of the bank was a black sand shore and a wall of water, pouring down from a ledge of the cave above them. The sight was breathtaking. The water cascaded down into a wide, but ankle-deep pool. The collision of water on water created a gentle mist that swirled all around them.</p>
<p>“Is this a dead end?” Kairi asked.</p>
<p>“I don’t think so,” Sora replied, stepping forward. Gingerly, he waded through the pool, water up to mid-calf. His ears pulled back in displeasure, but he was otherwise calm. He raised a hand to the wall of water and pressed his arm through. “The passage keeps going.”</p>
<p>“Well, then I guess we should too,” Riku suggested. The other two nodded. Riku braced himself to walk under the downpour, but the water felt like little more than a damp mist.</p>
<p>Riku gasped. On the other side the cavern passage continued, but now a cascade of water was on either side of him. Only a narrow path, a foot or two wider than him, remained. Transfixed, Riku kept walking, holding out his hand and creating a gentle spray of water as his forearm disrupted the flow.</p>
<p>“It’s kind of beautiful, isn’t it?” Riku asked, turning around to see what the others thought. But the others were not there. Neither was the way he came. Instead there was just another waterfall directly behind him.</p>
<p>Riku’s heart stopped. What had just happened?</p>
<p>“Kairi?” He called. Rushing water was his only response.</p>
<p>Nothing.</p>
<p>“Sora?”</p>
<p>Again, nothing but water. Not even an echo was heard.</p>
<p><i>Calm down, Riku,</i> he thought sharply, shaking his head. Panicking wouldn’t solve anything. Besides, the others couldn’t be too far off. Riku stepped back through the cascade directly behind him, but it did not open back into the cavern with the pool. Instead, it was identical to where he had just been, a narrow passageway with a waterfall on either side of him.</p>
<p>“Kairi, Sora!” He yelled, cupping his hands to better funnel the sound. Riku listened carefully, trying to hear any reply. But none came.</p>
<p>Panicked, he opened his eyes. He stuck his hand through the wall of water closest to him, expecting to feel the cavern stone. He could use the wall to guide him to the exit. But instead his hand went through. Riku stepped through the water, and the scene repeated. Water all around him, with no indication of where he had entered.</p>
<p>Chest heaving, he barrelled forward. Riku grit his teeth, expecting to crash into stone, but no impact came. He opened his eyes. The water continued to rush around him. </p>
<p>Trying to ignore that his hands were trembling he shut his eyes tight, straining to hear over the rush of water, to see if he could hear any divergence, anything to indicate where the exit was.</p>
<p>Riku stood like that for a moment, breathing deeply and listening to the water. The steady rhythm soon matched pace with his breathing, and a feeling of calm began to wash over him. His emotions, once stirring so rapid and panicked, slowed. A heavy fog overtook his thoughts.</p>
<p>Then, Riku heard another sound. The drum of a river. But this sounded nothing like the cavern. This river was massive, gallons of water beating against the earth. There was the sound of a bird’s cry, the rustling of wind at his ears. Leaves blowing in the breeze.</p>
<p>Riku opened his eyes. He looked down. He was standing barefoot in the mud, a scrape on his knee visible just below the cuff of his shorts. The cat-tails swayed in the wind beside him, the reeds growing well above his head. Riku knew one day he would stand taller than the plants and be able to see around the riverbank properly.</p>
<p>Riku looked out on the water. The wind was too strong for a clear reflection, the water left choppy and broken. But what he saw on the fractured surface was what he expected to see. Short and skinny, dressed in a yellow shirt and frayed shorts.</p>
<p>“What are you doing?”</p>
<p>Beside him lay a fishing pole and a wooden bucket filled with water.</p>
<p>
  <i>Fishing.</i>
</p>
<p>Riku shook his head, rubbing at his temples. He felt as if he had a migraine. He was forgetting something- someone. Someone important.</p>
<p>“You were looking for someone.”</p>
<p>The acrid smell of smoke filled his nostrils. The air was thick and without humidity, hurting to breathe in. Embers filled the air. The river looked orange, reflecting the inferno behind him.</p>
<p>
  <i>Where was dad?</i>
</p>
<p>Riku whirled around, the scene before him turning his blood to ice. The forest was on fire.</p>
<p>“Dad!” Riku screamed, stumbling out of the muddy riverbank and onto the forest floor. <i>”Dad!”</i></p>
<p>No reply came. The air was growing hotter and darker, harder to see and harder to breathe. He heard someone shouting orders, the clatter of hooves. Riku didn’t stop to see what was happening around him, running ahead to where their house would be, where his dad would be.</p>
<p>Through the thick, choking air he could see the small cabin, down the hill and through the thicket. It was completely engulfed in bright, roaring flames. The scene pulled him up short. He stopped, chest heaving. He couldn’t move, but he couldn’t look away. His heart pounded in his ears.</p>
<p>He could hear screaming from within the house. Trembling from head to toe, Riku stepped forward. Then again, ignoring his screaming instincts, every fiber of his being telling him to turn away. He needed to be brave, to go further into the crackling heat. The sound of the horses were growing louder.</p>
<p>Then he stopped. A melody, loud and clear, sounding closer and more distinct than the screaming, the roaring fire, the rushing wind, the distant calls. It played, slow and mournful. The sound of the strings tugged at Riku’s heart.</p>
<p>He turned around, looking for the source.</p>
<p>Sora stood a few feet behind him, watching with Riku with a tender smile and sorrowed eyes. He didn’t break eye contact as he played, his bow gracefully gliding over the strings as his fingers plucked out the cords.</p>
<p>“Your dad’s not there,” Sora told him, smiling sadly.</p>
<p>
  <i>This isn’t real.</i>
</p>
<p>Riku turned back, looking in front of him. The forest, the thicket, the fire was gone. Instead he was standing waist-deep in black, sluggish water that clung to his armored limbs; thick as mud and tenacious as tar.</p>
<p>He looked back at the tiefling. Sora was standing on the stone bank. His own clothing had some of the sludge stuck to it, and his eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, as if he had just been weeping.</p>
<p>“I- but-” Riku stutterted, whirling around him, wondering how the scene had changed so suddenly. “He-”</p>
<p>“You won’t find him here,” Sora murmured gently. “Come out of the water, okay?”</p>
<p>Riku nodded, swallowing thickly. He made his way, with difficulty, out of the sludge. If he had gone any deeper, he wouldn’t have been able to get out.</p>
<p>It occured to Risk what had transpired. The cavern they were in was the same as before, but the water no longer cascaded down. Instead, they were on flat stone, surrounded by a lake of thick, tar-like water.</p>
<p>Whatever the waterfall had been, it was gone now. Riku suspected it hadn’t been water at all, but some sort of enchantment to mask their true surroundings. Along with whatever magic had drug up that flashback.</p>
<p>But knowing all that, Riku felt no relief. The memory of the fire stuck with him just as strongly as if he had truly just re-lived the moment.</p>
<p>“Where’s Kairi?” Riku asked.</p>
<p>An ear-splitting scream answered him. The two men whirled around, and Riku saw the half-elf, a stone’s throw to the left. She was submerged up to her chest, clawing desperately at the sludge.</p>
<p><i>”Aqua!</i>” She shrieked. “No, no- <i>no!</i>”</p>
<p>Sora startled. He began to play with more fervor, but it didn’t seem to be enough to break into Kairi’s vision. Riku dove in after her.</p>
<p>He grabbed the half-elf around her waist, pulling her back even as she thrashed, seemingly trying to reach out and grab someone’s hand. She screamed the name ‘Aqua,’ over and over again like a mantra. </p>
<p>Riku struggled to bring her back to the shore with him, as she kicked and flailed every step of the way. Eventually, his chest heaving with effort, he hoisted her up onto the solid ground.</p>
<p>Kairi clutched her hands over her face, hyperventilating in between screams. Her eyes were horrified, afixed to something in the distance he could not see. Sora stopped his playing and instead ran over to his friend. He kneeled beside her, as Riku attempted to keep her pinned, preventing her from rushing back out into the tar.</p>
<p>Sora rubbed his hands together quickly, a blue glow sparking off them. Then he grabbed either side of his friend's face and shushed her gently. Kairi’s screams gave way to soft cries, then sharp inhales, until finally her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing fell into a smooth, natural rhythm.</p>
<p>“She’s asleep,” Sora panted, sitting down. “I couldn’t snap her out of it.”</p>
<p>“Whatever she saw must have been terrible,” Riku murmured breathlessly. “That was one hell of an enchantment.” </p>
<p>A look of horror dawned on Sora’s face. Riku felt unnerved by the intensity of the gaze Sora affixed him with. </p>
<p>“That was far too powerful to be some spell put in place forever ago,” Sora told him. “Riku, I think there’s someone down here with us.”</p>
<p>Riku’s heart skipped a beat. “You don’t mean-?”</p>
<p>With a flash of panic he recalled the stories he had heard of Lady Maleficent's cruelty, her unparalleled strength. She commanded armies of undead, had a horde of followers at her every beck and call. She wiped out cities- countries even, anything that stood in her way. The thought of what traps she designed for her tomb had been challenging enough. No traveler would be foolhardy enough to have dared to plunge these catacombs if Lady Maleficent, somehow, still remained within the crypt. </p>
<p>“I thought that ghost figure we saw seemed like more than illusion magic,” Sora admitted. “But I didn’t want to make you guys paranoid if I was wrong.”</p>
<p>Riku nodded mutely, a feeling of dread creeping over him.</p>
<p>“Well,” Sora stood up with a sigh. “We better look around.”</p>
<p>“What for?” Riku asked.</p>
<p>“A key,” Sora gave a worn-out grin. “After all that trouble, there must be one here. Right?”</p>
<p><i>There better be,</i> Riku thought darkly.  The two looked around the cavern, sure enough, in the center of the bank lay a small, silver key covered in sludge. There was little victory in their discovery. </p>
<p>Then, Riku and Sora checked over their supplies. The one good thing about the disgusting water that surrounded this bank was at least it had been too thick to seep into their bags, and all their belongings remained clean and dry.</p>
<p>It was less than an hour before Kairi awoke. The two watched her nervously, not sure what she would see. But Kairi merely stared at the ceiling for a moment before she stepped to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulders, not looking at the two.</p>
<p>“Lets go,” she grumbled.</p>
<p>“Are you okay-” Sora began, reaching out to touch his friend’s arm. She yanked her hand away from his grasp.</p>
<p>“I’m fine,” she told him shortly. “Let’s just go.”</p>
<p>Sora cast Riku an anxious stare. Riku gave a small shrug. If Kairi didn’t want to acknowledge what transpired, he didn’t blame her. With uncertain steps, Sora followed his friend back to the passageway. </p>
<p>“We found our second key,” Sora voiced aloud.</p>
<p>“That’s good,” Kairi replied, sounding indifferent. Her gaze was fixed steadily ahead of her, still not looking back at the two of them. </p>
<p>“Kai, whose Aqua?”</p>
<p>Riku’s breath caught in his throat. He was surprised Sora was brave enough to ask. But Kairi didn’t respond. They walked in uncomfortable silence. It wasn’t until they had left the cave-like area and re-entered the monolithic labyrinth hours later did Kairi speak.</p>
<p>“...she was my big sis.” </p>
<p>Sora didn’t ask any more questions after that.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>That night, the party made camp quietly. There was no joking or lighthearted conversations over supper. Instead, they ate in silence. It wasn’t until the three had finished and laid out there bedding that someone spoke.</p>
<p>“We’re running low on food,” Kairi announced. “We’ve probably got another two days left, at most.” Riku nodded mutely, disturbed at the thought.</p>
<p>He crawled under his blanket with a heavy heart. He hoped sleep would take his aching body and exhausted mind right away, but instead he lay there, eyes fixed on the smooth marble ceiling. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard soft footsteps approach him.</p>
<p>Riku turned to see Sora, dressed in his own sleepwear tonight, crouching at the edge of Riku’s sleeping bag, tugging at the corner of the blanket.</p>
<p>“Do you mind if I join you again?” Riku shook his head, and Sora lifted up the bedding and slipped in. Still no room beside him, Sora settled down in the same position he had taken the prior night.</p>
<p>“Is your bedding still wet?” Riku asked. Sora shook his head.</p>
<p>Riku raised a hand and placed it tentatively on the small of Sora’s back. The tiefling gave a soft exhale and shut his eyes. Riku’s mind felt quieted by his presence, and a comfortable sense of drowsiness began to take his limbs.</p>
<p>“I saw the day my mom died,” Sora whispered.</p>
<p>Riku blinked his eyes open. The words had been spoken so softly he felt he could have imagined them. But when he looked down at Sora’s expression, he realized he hadn’t.</p>
<p>“She was a musician, like me,” Sora told him, voice hushed. There was a nostalgic sort of look in his eyes. “It was always the two of us. She would go from town to town to play.” A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “She said when I was young she used to play her mandolin with me on her lap- that I would sleep all through her shows.”</p>
<p>Seeing the tiefling with such a somber expression pained Riku. He wished he had comforting words, or a way to console such sorrow. But nothing came to mind, any words he spoke froze on his tongue, feeling too menial to be of any value.</p>
<p>"When I got older I used to sit and watch her play. She was amazing, Riku." He closed his eyes, face harboring a small smile. Riku knew he was seeing the tiefling woman in his mind’s eye, remembering her with pride. "Nothing like me. She was a pro."</p>
<p>"What happened?" Riku asked softly.</p>
<p>"It was just the two of us, and life was tough on the road. She… wasn't very careful," Sora admitted with a sigh. "She was always getting scraped up one way or another. Always getting bruised by the smallest shit. I'd patch her up, bandage her injuries or whatever. She called me her zulh myidyr-" Riku’s brow furrowed at the unfamiliar language. Sora smiled. “Little cleric,” he explained.</p>
<p>But Sora’s smile soon slipped away to a regretful stare. "I knew she bled more than most, but I never noticed she was so sick.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “And of course she never went to see a real healer. By the time I took her to a doctor, it was too late."</p>
<p>Riku’s heart stilled, an ice-cold feeling of dread in his stomach. "Sora…"</p>
<p>The tiefling shut his eyes tight. Riku gave him a little shake. “Sora, you know it wasn’t your fault, right?”</p>
<p>“I was fourteen, I think,” Sora told him, voice little more than a shaky exhale. “It was almost ten years ago now- but I still remember the smell.” He was trembling. “There was so much blood.”</p>
<p>Riku wrapped both his arms around Sora, pulling him tight in a hug. “It wasn’t your fault,” he told him again, firmly.</p>
<p>“I know.” Sora buried his face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around Riku’s shoulders. “I know that now, thank god.” Sora shook violently in his arms, and Riku felt the hot tears splash onto the fabric covering his chest. But Sora didn’t sob or cry out. He cried silently.</p>
<p>A heavy ache in Riku’s chest, he lifted a hand to the tiefling’s hair. He tentatively began to run his fingers through it, and murmured gentle words, hoping his meager efforts could bring some sort of ease to the crushing grief.</p>
<p>Riku held Sora firmly until he stopped shaking. Riku was unsure how much time passed. Eventually, Sora’s stuttered, shallow breaths became slower, deeper, calmer. </p>
<p>Sora lifted his head with a groan. He roughly pressed the palm of his hand against his eyes, crudely wiping away his tears.</p>
<p>“Ugh. Okay, I’m done,” Sora announced, voice hoarse. “Thanks, Riku.”</p>
<p>Riku shook his head, jarred by the sudden recovery. “I didn’t do anything.”</p>
<p>“Yes you did, dummy,” Sora told him. Riku felt a tail flick his abdomen playfully.</p>
<p>Sora settled back down. But he did not return to his original position. Instead he remained with their chests flush and his head resting in the crook of Riku’s neck. Something pleasantly warm yet nerve-wrackingly uncomfortable stirred deep in Riku’s stomach.</p>
<p>When Sora spoke Riku’s name, lips tickling over sensitive skin, Riku nearly swallowed his own tongue.</p>
<p>“Yes?” Riku spluttered, hoping Sora did not notice his panic. But when Sora spoke, his voice was somber.</p>
<p>“Can I ask what happened to your dad?”</p>
<p>Riku’s breath caught in his throat. He had never told anyone the story before- there had never been any reason, no one to tell it to. But to Riku’s own surprise, he nodded. </p>
<p>Somehow, selfishlessly, he wanted Sora to know. As if telling the story would ease the weight. As if Sora hearing it would make the load no longer Riku’s to bear alone, as if the burden could be shared, and by extension, made lighter and easier to carry with him.</p>
<p>So Riku took a deep breath, sitting up. Sora politely mirrored his alertness, clearly giving Riku his full attention.</p>
<p>Riku explained how his mother, a human woman, had been the Lady of an estate. Perhaps even of a kingdom, he wasn’t sure. Regardless, she lived a comfortable, yet sheltered life. In a private rebellion against her parents, she committed adultery with an orc from a nearby fishing village. </p>
<p>Though their affair had been brief, Riku’s father was determined to stay beside her and raise their son together, no matter the cost. He longed to stay with her, and for them to become a family. But Riku’s mother had regretted her disobedience. All her talk of wanting freedom and forbidden love disappeared when she was faced with consequence for her actions, in the form of a half-breed child.</p>
<p>So instead, she had left the two of them behind, and happily returned to her comfortable life among fellow aristocrats. Sora listened to it all silently, but his expression darkened as the story continued.</p>
<p>“I was about eight when her father- my grandfather, found out that a bastard child was his heir,” Riku told him. “He was furious. He burned down our home.” Riku’s eyes scrunched tight at the memory. “I never saw my father again.”</p>
<p>This time, Sora was the one to embrace him, wrapping his arms around Riku’s waist.</p>
<p>“What did your mother do?” Sora prompted, voice a comforting whisper.</p>
<p>Riku relaxed, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. The worst of the memory was over. “Nothing.” Riku shrugged. “She wasn’t too invested in my wellbeing. Honestly, I’m not sure what my father ever saw in her.”</p>
<p>“What a horrible woman,” Sora seethed.</p>
<p>“My grandfather was worse,” Riku told him. “He was obsessed with me. I wasn’t allowed to leave the estate, or do anything really. All I could do was study. I think he thought I’d be less of a barbarian if I read enough academia.”</p>
<p>“You were <i>eight</i>!” Sora exclaimed. “He was the barbaric one.”</p>
<p>Riku shrugged again. "I don't think he ever saw me as a person, let alone as a child."</p>
<p><i>"Aristocratic cuck,"</i> Sora spat. Riku bit back a chuckle.</p>
<p>“I didn’t live there very long," Riku explained to him, hoping to ease Sora’s mind. "It really wasn't that big of a deal.”</p>
<p>“Where did you go?” Sora asked, surprised.</p>
<p>“I just left. I think in the end they decided I wasn’t worth it, because they’ve never sent anyone after me.”</p>
<p>“You’ve been on your own ever since?” Sora asked, gaping at him. Riku nodded.</p>
<p>Sora scrambled until he sat up as well. He placed his weight on his knees, straddled on either side of Riku's lap. He threw his arms around Riku’s neck, burying Riku’s face against his chest.</p>
<p>"I'm so sorry, Riku.”</p>
<p>Riku fought to remain calm, feeling his cheeks heat up. "It's fine, it's what I'm used to."</p>
<p>Sora had no reply, sans holding Riku even tighter.</p>
<p>Riku became dizzy from the overwhelming contact. He could hear Sora’s heartbeat, feel Sora’s breath against where Sora had buried his face into Riku’s hair. Riku’s pulse quickened, torn between never wanting the embrace to end, and fearfully knowing that if this continued any longer his years of carefully built composure would crumble away.</p>
<p>Riku allowed himself one more moment of weakness. He took a deep breath, trying to commit the moment to memory. The fabric of Sora’s clothing, his smell mixed with the musk of the underground river, the feel of his lithe form against Riku’s. He let his senses be flooded by Sora for a second longer, then he pulled away.</p>
<p>“Perhaps we should sleep,” Riku told him, pointedly avoiding eye contact.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Sora conceded with a grin.</p>
<p>The tiefling shifted to the side, allowing Riku to settle into the bedding. Once Riku had laid back down, Sora slid in beside him. </p>
<p>Riku felt as if every inch of him thrummed with an unnamed longing, but even more dominant was the blanket of exhaustion settling into his limbs. So Riku allowed his heavy eyelids to shut, and let the fatigue sweep over him and ward off any other emotions.</p>
<p>Riku was almost asleep when Sora spoke.</p>
<p>“Must be a hell of a painting, huh?”</p>
<p>Tiredly, Riku considered this. When Xion first explained to him the history of the artifact, he hadn’t thought much of it. Now, he felt sympathy and understanding for the artist.</p>
<p>“The painter it belonged to never married,” Riku mumbled, hoping his half-awake explanation made sense. “She told her adopted children her heart belonged with the painting's recipient.”</p>
<p>“Ah…” Sora hummed thoughtfully, voice tickling the skin over Riku’s collarbones. “Then it’s important we’re getting it back from Maleficent.” </p>
<p>Riku nodded wearily. Even in his tired state, his heart gave a warm flutter at the fact Sora cared for the painting, and the long-gone love it represented. Riku silently agreed, something that held so much significance did not belong in the clutches of a dead villian’s stolen hoard.</p>
<p>Sleep slowly began to claim Riku again, but he felt Sora stir beside him. A feeling of curiosity weighed in the back of his mind. His voice was a tired murmur as he asked the question. "Sora, is there a reason you hate being in the water so much?" </p>
<p>"Yes," Sora hissed. "It's wet."</p>
<p>A quiet laugh escaped Riku as his eyes fluttered shut, falling asleep with a smile on his lips.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>The next day Riku half-expected himself to feel awkward and flustered by the intimacy of the night. But the pressing problem of scarce rations distracted him from any embarrassment. In fact, all three of the party shared a tense silence and frightened look. Though no one voiced it aloud, they all knew the others had the same thoughts. If they didn’t make their way out soon, they would become trapped down here.</p>
<p>There was little conversation as they continued through the maze. Wearily they dealt with the traps, the ambushes of undead and whatever other horrors the twisted hellscape threw at them.</p>
<p>The trio’s feet dragged, but they continued through, refusing to take a break. Even when it felt as if it had been hours, time to set camp, they continued. They were rewarded with exhaustion, countless cut-throat battles, and the final key.</p>
<p>The discovery brought little relief. Instead, they trudged on, following the notes in Sora’s journal until returning to the passageway leading to the exit. The sludge of the mimic’s corpse remained, viscous and rotting.</p>
<p> Riku’s heart hammered in his chest, anticipation coursing through his veins. Soon the three would finally be out of this tomb. But the thought brought pain as well as comfort. Soon, they would receive their payment and go their separate ways.</p>
<p>However, when he turned into the chamber, the scene before him pulled his train of thought to an immediate halt.</p>
<p>The once-empty room was now filled to the brim with bones and the reek of death. Skeletons littered the floor, burned, and slashed and splintered, piled onto eachother, forming a hill of cartilage and decayed flesh. The door was barely visible behind the mound of bones.</p>
<p>Standing in the middle of the room was the ghostly visage of the human woman. Kairi and Sora both tensed beside Riku, weapons drawn.</p>
<p>“You’ve certainly done a number on this place,” the woman told them, voice amused. She gestured around at the ruined skeletons. With a jolt, Riku realized their air of familiarity. Somehow, this room was littered with the bones of every undead they had defeated in the maze. In the same moment, the realization dawned on Kairi as well. A horrified gasp escaped her.</p>
<p>“Perhaps you will hear out my offer this time?” the woman chided. “I’ve even decided to be more generous.”</p>
<p>No one replied, stunned into silence. She continued.</p>
<p>“I will now allow two of you to leave unharmed.” She held up two fingers to emphasize her point, then dropped her middle finger, holding up only her index. “Only one must remain in the tombs with me.”</p>
<p>Although her words gave no indication of who her offer was directed at, Riku noticed her gaze set specifically on Sora and Kairi. His heart lurched. Would the two consider her offer? They were friends with a long standing history, and he was a relative stranger. </p>
<p>Kairi and Sora shared a long look. Riku’s blood turned to ice.</p>
<p>Both the half-elf and the tiefling had expressions that attested to the years of knowing each other. Neither facial expression Riku knew the meaning of, but he could take the two were having a silent conversation. After a moment, there was a shared looking understanding. Kairi turned back to the figure.</p>
<p>“Rot in hell,” she snarled, squaring her shoulders as she raised her rapier.</p>
<p>A wide smile spread across the woman’s face. “Have it your way.”</p>
<p>Her visage shifted, as if a breeze swept through the room. She dispersed into dust, but the artificial gust continued, growing stronger with a low howl. The bones began to rattle softly, then as the whirlwind grew, they were lifted into the air.</p>
<p>All around them the skeletons began to be whipped up into the cyclone. They shifted, rearranging themselves with a loud clatter. The bones splintered apart, fracturing and reforming themselves. Kairi watched with horror as it began to take shape. The outline of a body, long legs and poised haunches, a long snout, a clawed tail and large skeletal wings. </p>
<p>The wind cleared and it stood before them, a twisted, makeshift bone dragon. It towered above the party, slamming a razor-sharp claw to the ground. It reared back, unleashing a savage, unearthly roar.</p>
<p>But Riku’s eyes were still fixed on Sora. There was an unmistakable expression of regret and sorrow etched into the tiefling’s face. He was staring at the spot where the woman had been.</p>
<p>Riku’s chest felt heavy as lead, wondering if the tiefling regretted Kairi’s choice. Wondering if he had underestimated how little he meant to Sora.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>its not dungeons and dragons without a tragic backstory amirite</p>
<p>thanks so much for reading! &lt;3 hope everyone is doing well. thanks so much for everyone whose left such kind feedback!!</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/SnailVape twitter for updates, along with a bit of other stuff.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Promising</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>&gt;:3c</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Riku winced, clutching at his stomach as the party wearily stumbled through the door. </p><p>The last battle had taken nearly everything from them. Even with Sora’s healing, their wounds remained, deep and painful and fresh. The tiefling only had enough energy to make sure none of the injuries were fatal. Riku grimly thought back to the stab to his gut he bore on the first day of the journey. How trivial that seemed now compared to his aching bones and throbbing body.</p><p>Kairi had a nasty gash on her side, blood still seeping through the bandage. Riku’s armour was dented and gouged in places where boney claws had raked over him. Sora was covered in scratches, nearly dead on his feet from the toll his magic had taken on him. But they continued on.</p><p>The narrow passage opened up to a large chamber. For a moment, Riku forgot that they were underground. The walls were a smooth emerald stone, and the ceiling above their heads was risen, painted in gold. A large, ornate, crystal chandelier hung from the center. It would have been beautiful if it weren’t for the sickly green light it gave off, casting the room in verdant shadow.</p><p>The chamber was massive, easily the size of a King’s grand hall- but instead of a throne, at the end sat a massive canopy bed veiled in black lace. True to the description from Xion, the hall was filled with gold statues adorned in exquisite silk robes and diamond jewelry. Shelves lined the walls, laden with glittering baubles, precious gems and magic artifacts. </p><p>There were, of course, paintings as well. Monumentally large portraits of beautiful women framed in gold leaf, canvases portraying breathtaking landscapes, or illustrious palace scenes. As Riku scanned the room, worn and wary, he kept an eye out for the particular painting they came here for.</p><p>“What’s this painting look like anyway?” Kairi rasped. She clutched at her side, keeping close to the other two as they made their way through the hall. She looked defeated, more so than her posture, the fire behind her eyes seemed to have gone out.</p><p>“I’m not sure,” Riku admitted. “There’s no account of what the painting was.” The half-elf whirled around, fury etched into her face. Before she opened her mouth for a sharp retort, Riku cut in “-but it should be signed ‘Carissimi’.”</p><p>“That’s Elven, isn’t it?” Sora asked. Unlike Kairi, he wasn’t limping, but his posture was hung over, arms close to himself, hands clutching his fiddle’s strap like a lifeline. Riku’s heart twinged at the sight. What happened to the jovial tiefling Riku met at the bar? That had been nearly a week ago, although it felt as if they had been down here for years.</p><p>“Yes, for ‘the loved’, or some shit” Kairi informed him. “Weird name,” she added with a snort, sounding almost like her old self. But then a dark expression crossed her face. “Keep close to me,” she told the two boys. “I’m sure there’s all sorts of whack shit in here.”</p><p>Sora nodded warily, trailing after her. Riku stepped forward to follow, but froze, hearing a whisper behind him.</p><p>He turned, but there was nothing there. The dim green light cast eerie shadows over the dust and cobwebbed filled chamber, obscuring the room. Then, Riku noticed with a start, a sourceless breeze was rustling a curtain in the back corner. They must be miles underground, what could possibly create a breeze?</p><p>Curiosity and a nameless, strange compulsion overtook caution. Riku found his feet taking him towards the partition. As he got closer to the end of the hall, the shadows on the wall flickered, reforming themselves to a humanoid silhouette. Then the silhouette stepped forward, pushing itself off the wall and taking full form. It was the woman again.</p><p>“Riku,” she spoke softly, greeting him like an old friend.</p><p>Reflexively Riku’s hand went to his longsword, unsheathing it. But before he could raise it against her, he stopped. A scent flooded his senses. Earth, pine, autumn rain. The smell of his childhood home. The village by the river.</p><p>“You have no reason to distrust me,” the girl told him, stepping forward. His instincts screamed for him to step back, to call a warning to the others, but the nostalgic aroma overwhelmed him.</p><p>“I’ve been watching you all this time.” Riku’s vision shifted. Suddenly the shadowy figure didn’t look so threatening. He couldn’t remember why the three of them were so suspicious of her before. She was just a girl, small and slender with kind, knowing eyes. </p><p>“I want to warn you, Riku,” she said. “I care about you, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”</p><p>Common sense returned to him. Riku shook his head, gritting his teeth. His hand tightened around the handle of his blade. But she raised a hand, and a chilling calm came over Riku, as if she had doused his negative emotions as easily as blowing out a small flame. Just as she must have done when they were lost in the misty cavern.</p><p>“The other two, they would sell you out in a heartbeat,” she murmured, lowering her arm to her side. Riku glanced over his shoulder. In the shadows he could just make out Sora and Kairi on the other side of the hall, huddled together, whispering quietly to each other.</p><p>“They have no intention of fighting the honest way out,” the woman continued. Her voice was low, laced with sympathy. “They want to take my offer, to abandon you here and leave with Lady Maleficent's treasures.” <i>No,</i> RIku thought, anguish stabbing at his heart. </p><p>“The half-elf is a thief,” she sighed. “It’s in her nature.”</p><p>Riku watched the two of them. Huddled. Secretive. Conspiring. He wondered if it could be true. But memories washed before him. Quiet footsteps waking him up, a tail sneaking into his shirt. A hand in his hair. A soft voice murmuring by his ear. A warm look in half-closed blue eyes. Steady, gentle breathing beside his own.</p><p>“Oh, Riku,” the woman murmured, her heart sounding as if it could break from empathy. “He’s a performer.” Riku turned back to her and saw no malice, no dishonesty in her sad smile.</p><p>“An actor” she said. His heart throbbed painfully in his chest. A step more and she was directly in front of him.</p><p>"I know it hurts, but it's best you know the truth.” She raised her hands to his face. “Before they abandon you and leave you for dead too.”</p><p>Suddenly, the trance over Riku broke like a bucket of ice-water being dumped over his mind, bringing him back to painful clarity. He lurched back, trying to avoid her touch, but he was a fraction too late.</p><p>"You know what you must do."</p><p>Her hands gripped his face, sharp nails digging into his flesh. He tried to wrench free of her grasp, but she held tighter. Suddenly, it felt as though his mind was being crushed by an unseen force. Hot, white pain filled his vision and he staggered, falling to his knees.</p><p>A deafening ringing sounded from inside his skull, the reverberations making the world around him convulse. Clutching at his face, a pained scream tore from his lungs.</p><p><i>“Riku?”</i> two voices called behind him. He heard the distant sound of hurried footsteps.</p><p>“What happened?” </p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p>“Riku?”</p><p> </p><p>Worried voices echoed off the stone walls, piercing his aching eardrums with their aggravating shrillness. Shakily, Riku clamored back to his feet, sword in hand.</p><p>“Riku?” a voice said again.</p><p>The world was blurred. Riku’s eyes burned at the swirl of color before him, the clanging still deafening. Every inch of Riku, from his fingertips to the deepest part of his chest scorched with agonizing rage. Teeth clenched, he raised his sword and brought it down with full force over the head of his nearest party member, Kairi.</p><p>With the impeccable reflexes of a thief, her rapier was unsheathed and parrying the blow. Riku staggered. In the second it took him to recover, Kairi lunged forward. There was a scraping noise and a spark of light as the metal blade scratched over metal armour, pushing Riku back.</p><p>“Wha-?!” Sora cried out. He leapt forward, arms outstretched between the two. Kairi bowled him over as she pushed past him to swing again</p><p>“Idiot!” She barked. “Look at his eyes! Were they purple before?”</p><p>Riku snarled. The throbbing pain continued to course through his veins. He raised his sword again, determined to slash through the half-elf. But she paired his blow again.</p><p>“Well?!” Kairi shouted, teeth gritted in the effort to hold up her sword and not be pushed back, feet planted firmly on the ground. “Can’t you play something?!”</p><p>“Ah- right!” Sora gasped. He frantically fumbled to get out his fiddle. Within moments, a spirited, chaotic melody filled the room, echoing off the smooth stone walls.</p><p>Riku halted, sword in the air, moments before bringing the blade down. The excruciating pain and the thundering clanging remained, but a jolt of confusion held him in place. Riku stood frozen, unsure what he was doing.</p><p>Kairi took her moment and pounced. She brought the butt of her blade’s handle against his temple at full force. Riku was sent tumbling back into the wall, crashing into a shelf and showering him in dust. There was a louder shatter, porcelain and glass valuables splintering into pieces as they collided with the floor.</p><p>A thin flash of metal danced before his eyes, and Riku’s cheek grew wet and hot, a spray of red mist clouding his vision. Dazed, Riku raised a hand to his face. He could feel the blood running from the wound, but he felt no pain. Even where she had assaulted his temple felt no different. All he could feel was the painful thudding of his heart and the deafening noise of the blood rushing in his ears.</p><p>Kairi looked over him, a horrified expression on her face. He could feel waves of regret and sorrow radiating from her. Shakily he pulled himself out of the wreckage and got to his feet. The half-elf stood still, a flicker of doubt in her eyes. Clearly, she couldn’t tell if it was over or not. Some of the tension left her shoulders and she lowered her blade an inch.</p><p>Hands gripped tightly on Dawnbringer, Riku swung with all his might against her injured side. The blade tore into her armour with a meaty <i>thwack</i>.</p><p><i>”Fuck</i>-” she shrieked, her sword clattering to the ground.</p><p>The music came to a screeching halt. <i>“Kairi!</i>”</p><p>Her feet remained firmly planted, swaying as blood oozed from her side. Riku advanced on her. Her gaze flickered, panicked, to her rapier yards away, then back to him. She ducked down, completely dodging his blow as his blade swung over her head. Then, within the blink of an eye she grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked his head down with a tremendous amount of force, connecting his nose with her knee.</p><p>There was a sick crack and a spurt of warm. Without hesitation, Kairi shifted, letting go of Riku as she kicked him square in the chest. She turned quickly on her heel, making a mad dash to her blade.</p><p>Riku pulled himself to his feet, charging after her. She was bent over, her back to him. His blade collided with her spine. He hadn’t pierced her armour, but she gave a loud gasp, the air leaving her lungs as she slammed against the ground. <i>Ah well,</i> Riku thought, raising his sword again. He would hit flesh on the next swing.</p><p>There was a whizzing sound followed by metal tearing skin. Riku halted in his swing, looking down. A dagger stuck into the back of his right hand. His eyes drew a line from the weapon to a few yards away where Sora stood, panting.</p><p>His chest was heaving, eyes shining with fear. But his expression was hard, an unspoken challenge in his grimace. Riku pulled out the dagger with ease and tossed it to the ground. He took a step towards the tiefling.</p><p>“No,” Kairi moaned weakly from the ground. <i>“Run,</i> Sora-”</p><p>“I’m not leaving you!” Sora shouted back. His eyes narrowed at Riku. “Either of you,” he said firmly.</p><p>“We’ll see about that,” Riku snarled. He charged forward, swinging at the other man. Sora dodged, side stepping the blow. He grabbed Riku’s arm and gave it a sharp twist. Involuntarily, Riku’s grasp on the blade weakend and it fell through his fingers. </p><p>Still holding onto Riku’s arm, Sora’s leg kicked out, foot colliding with the back of Riku’s knee and forcing Riku’s arm behind his own back with a crack. Riku staggerged, but managed to stay on his feet. He wrenched his arm from Sora’s grasp and whirled around to face him.</p><p>Sora shot out his palm, hitting Riku square in the throat, knocking him back. Riku lurched back, but recovered quickly and reached out, grabbing onto Sora’s wrist with both hands. He pulled the other man forward, and shoved his knee into Sora’s gut.</p><p><i>“Ack-”</i> Sora cried, the air being forced from his lungs. He attempted to dig his elbow into Riku’s diaphragm, but he made no impact against the armour.</p><p>Riku grabbed a fistful of Sora’s hair, roughly yanking him back. Sora hissed in pain, hands scrambling to try and pry off Riku’s fingers, but to no avail. Riku pulled his free arm back, then collided his knuckles with Sora’s jaw at full force. He let go of the tiefling’s hair as he did, tossing him onto the ground.</p><p>Sora gave a huff as he fell backwards, winded. A hand reflexively raised to the struck area. His chest heaved, staring at Riku with an intense expression.</p><p>Riku smiled smugly. “C’mon Sora,” he taunted. He rose a hand to his face and wiped off the stream of blood trickling from his nose. “I know you can do better than that.”</p><p>Sora’s eyes narrowed to slits, but Riku saw them flash behind him, to the broad sword on the floor. Sora shifted, ready to make a leap for it. Riku adjusted accordingly, ready to block the man’s path. But as Sora sprung, it was not for the sword, but for Riku.</p><p>Riku stumbled, his miscalculation causing him to be caught off guard. Sora held onto Riku’s wrists, shoving Riku back as the two of them fell to the ground.</p><p>The back of Riku’s head and his spine collided with the ground, the air leaving his lungs as Sora’s weight came crashing down onto his abdomen. Riku bucked, trying to shove him off, but Sora remained firm. He forced Riku’s wrists to his side, pinning his arms down on either side of Riku’s head. </p><p>Riku snarled. The tiefling was a fool if he thought he could hold Riku down with his meager size. But Sora shifted, and instead of attempting to pin him, he let go. Rather than pin him, his hands moved down and cupped Riku’s cheeks as he moved his head forward, closing his eyes and bringing their lips together. Then he kissed Riku.</p><p>The pain and the clanging stopped. All Riku was made aware of was the hands on his face, firm and calloused but warm. Sora pressed their lips together with more force, his breath warm against Riku’s face. The tension left Riku’s body, his fists unclenched. He breathed out a sigh of contentment, eyes fluttering shut. Riku shifted. Without thinking about it, he kissed back.</p><p>A wash of memories came over him. The elven lass, her short black hair- wavy and beautiful, framing her round face. Small and stout, her stomach pudgy and skin soft. Rosy red cheeks and a voice like a morning dove, singing along in a quiet sigh with the birds. Her eyebrows knitted in concentration as she pulled her pen across paper. Quick kisses stolen in between laughter, legs in between his own under a tangle of sheets.</p><p>Riku wondered how he could have forgotten her. He had never been abandoned. She had always been there.</p><p>With a jolt, Riku realized these weren’t his memories. His eyes shot open.</p><p>Sora pulled back, eyes blinking open. A warm smile spread across his face, and he gently rubbed a thumb under Riku’s left eye.</p><p>“Green again,” Sora murmured, breathless. He gave one more chaste kiss against Riku’s lips before he buried his face into the crook of Riku's neck. "I can’t fucking believe that worked,” he rasped against the half-orc's skin. His voice was tight and he was trembling from head to toe.</p><p>A warm, melting feeling spread over Riku, and then sharply left, replaced with a horrible ache. His cheek stung, his right hand was throbbing and his nose felt sickly and hot. His head and spine felt bruised along with a myriad of other complaints. Wincing, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, Sora shifting off of him.</p><p>He scanned the room and saw Kairi where she lay sprawled on her stomach, her chest rising and falling in quick, painful breaths. Blood still flowed from her wound. A stab of horror pierced Riku’s heart. What on earth had he done?</p><p>Panicked, he turned to Sora, wondering if he would be able to heal his friend, but Sora was not looking at Kairi. He was looking to the side where a human girl was crouched on all fours, heaving.</p><p>Riku reached behind him and grabbed his sword, ready to slice the witch to pieces. But before he could move she looked up, a horrified expression on her face.</p><p>“Please, wait!” she cried. She pushed herself up to sit on her knees. It was not her words, but her appearance, that froze Riku in his tracks.</p><p>The woman was no longer translucent. Instead, she seemed to be fully solid. She was barefoot, wearing a thin, light pink dress. Dirty blonde curls framed her gaunt, pale face. Her eyes a soft violet and her lips a gentle red. A triangular gold necklace adorned her neck.</p><p>“I deserve whatever punishment you see fit,” she told them. “But let me do this first.” She climbed to her feet, and rushed towards the unconscious Kairi. Sora hurried, scrabbling to stand up, but the woman reached her first.</p><p><i>”No-</i>” Sora shouted, his voice caught in his throat as the woman hunched down over Kairi, placing a hand firmly on her back. Riku was suspended in place, unable to move, watching in silent horror.</p><p>A bright gold light filled the chamber and Kairi gasped loudly. The woman stood up, tucking her hair behind her ear and offering a hand to help Kairi to her feet. Kairi ignored the hand, and instead grabbed her rapier and jumped to her feet.</p><p>Sora gasped and Riku’s eyebrows shot up in amazement. Kairi’s armour was still torn, and her face a filthy mess of blood, sweat, and grime. Her hair was plastered to her from where it had escaped her braid. But she was free of injury- and not just the ones from the most recent fight. She appeared to be free from any of the wounds she had sustained in the cavern, her body looking as whole as it had in the bar.</p><p>Kairi held up her blade, pointing it at the woman’s throat. “What the hell, ghost?” the thief spat.</p><p>The woman did not flinch. She delicately held up her hands in surrender. “You’re right to be angry,” she told Kairi, unblinkingly. Her eyes were wet. “I am so, so, sorry for everything I have done to you three.”</p><p>“Kai, I think it’s okay now,” Sora said. His voice was gentle but his expression confused. Kairi narrowed her eyes and lowered her sword, but still kept it trained on the woman.</p><p>“May I?” The woman asked, casting a look at Riku and Sora. Kairi’s eyes narrowed, and she kept her sword in place. She gave a curt nod. The human woman clasped both hands to her chest and gave a small bow, then walked over to where the two men stood.</p><p>She held out both her hands in invitation. Sora hesitantly placed a hand in hers. Uncertain, Riku followed suit. She delicately held both of them in hers, and the same gold light emitted from where she touched them. Within a moment, all the pain and aching left Riku. Even his exhaustion was replaced with a feeling of confident energy.</p><p>Sora patted at his face and found it injury-free. “Thank you,” he grinned. </p><p>She shook her head. “I don’t deserve your thanks,” she told him sadly. “It’s all my fault any of you got hurt to begin with.”</p><p>“Are you Maleficent?” Kairi questioned sharply.</p><p>A ghost of a smile appeared on the woman’s face. “No,” she told them. “My name was Aurora.” </p><p>Sora cast Riku a glance, wordlessly asking if Riku heard of any Auroras when he had researched the tomb. Riku merely shrugged in response. This was all just as new to him.</p><p>“Maleficent lays here,” Aurora said. She walked towards the canopy bed. Tentatively, the trio followed her. Kairi had yet to lower her weapon.</p><p>Over the covers of the bed lay the body of a tiefling woman. She was dressed in extravagant purple robes, hands regally resting on her abdomen. She had lengthy, piercing black horns and villainously long nails. Her eyes were still open, an eerie dull green. Riku’s breath caught in his throat. She was clearly dead, and had been for a long time, but her bodily was freakishly well-preserved.</p><p>Kairi gave a yelp of fear. Aurora pressed a hand to her mouth, suppressing a giggle. “She’s been dead a long time,” Aurora told her gently. “She can’t harm anyone in this state.”</p><p>“She’s not gonna… zombie on us?” Kairi asked.</p><p>Aurora shook her head. “Her magic left her when she died.”</p><p>“How did you end up down here, Aurora?” Sora asked, a look of confusion etched into his face. </p><p>“Are you a ghost?” Kairi added sharply.</p><p>“I believe so,” Aurora addressed Kairi first, then turned to Sora. “When Lady Maleficent fell ill, her followers built her this tomb to enshire her memory. I was tasked with tending to the Lady in her final days.”</p><p>“And you couldn’t leave?” Sora’s voice was laden with sorrow for her. Aurora shook her head.</p><p>“This tomb was only ever meant to be entered, never exited.”</p><p>“So what is the purpose of all the traps and trials to get through here?” Riku cut in.</p><p>“Necromancers,” Aurora said with a shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine.”</p><p>“So you were a follower of hers,” Kairi snapped.</p><p>“No,” Aurora said curtly, turning on the half-elf with anger in her eyes. “I was a cleric of the light, thank you very much.” Kairi tensed, proverbial hackles raised. Aurora affixed her with a cold stare. Riku stepped in between the two women, not wanting another fight.</p><p>“Why did you choose to tend to Maleficent, then?” Riku asked.</p><p>The anger faded from Aurora’s eyes. “Choice?” She echoed. “There was hardly a choice.” She closed her eyes, a pained expression crossing her face. “The followers claimed to love their Lady, but no one wants to be trapped in a tomb. Yet they wanted a healer to remain with her.” The woman sighed. “They threatened my village, and the church leaders commanded me to go. This was the only way to keep the peace.”</p><p>A loud sniffle echoed through the air. With surprise, Riku noticed Sora staring at Aurora with a tragic expression. His eyes were wet and a trickle of snot dribbled down his nose. Riku reached over into his haversack, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to Sora. He blew his nose loudly. Riku found it oddly endearing. </p><p>Kairi’s expression softened. She sheathed her rapier. “Aurora?” She asked, her voice a touch gentler. The woman opened her eyes, showing she was listening. “Maybe you can help us, we’re looking for a painting,” Kairi told her. “By an elven artist, Carissimi?”</p><p>“Carissimi?” Aurora repeated, eyes growing wide in surprise. “I think I know of the painting, but I can’t imagine what worth it would hold.”</p><p>With one last glance at the body of Maleficent, Aurora turned, beckoning for the others to follow her. To Riku’s surprise she didn’t lead them to any of the grand paintings on the walls, but instead to the corner with the curtain, where Riku had been possessed. Suppressing a shiver, Riku nervously followed her.</p><p>Behind the tapestry was an alcove. A small bed sat in the corner. There was a table with a candelabra, a wood chest, and a cabinet. It reminded Riku almost of the humble bedrooms at <i>The Pilgrim’s Flask,</i> although those were not covered by centuries of dust.</p><p>Aurora stood in the corner, keeping room for the other two to follow them in. It grew cramped quickly. “This is where I slept,” Aurora told them. “I had some food and books. I tended to Lady Maleficent for about a month until the illness took her.” A dark look crossed Aurora’s face. “After that, I was alone. Maybe days, maybe years. I don’t know.”</p><p>Sora placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and her expression startled, then gave way to a kind smile.  “Anyhow,” she said, shaking her head to clear it of the painful memories. “The painting.”</p><p>Aurora knelt down, and opened the wooden chest. A handful of books sat on the bottom, yellowed and sagging with age. Beside them was a rolled piece of parchment, no less timeworn. She unrolled it to show a painting of two women sitting in bed, laughing euphorically, holding eachother in an embrace.</p><p>One of the women was a blonde human, clearly Aurora in life. The other was a small, pudgy elven woman with short, wavy, black hair and red cheeks. Riku felt a jolt of recognition. It was the woman from the memories Aurora had inadvertently shared with him. In the corner of the painting was a cursive signature.</p><p>
  <i>‘Remembering you Always, Your Carissimi.’</i>
</p><p>“Dearly Beloved,” Aurora murmured quietly. “That’s what I called her.”</p><p>“This was her good-bye present to you,” Riku said softly. His heart throbbed painfully. Whether it was in his sympathy or in secondhand sorrow of the memories, he wasn’t sure. Possibly, it was both.</p><p>Tears welled up in the corners of Aurora’s eyes. “Snow begged me not to go, but I had to.” Her lip quivered. “For my people.”</p><p>“She even tried to come with you.” Riku closed his eyes, the shared memory washing over him.</p><p>“I would not have wished this life on anyone,” Aurora cried. She hugged the parchment close to her chest. “I lost myself, I was so alone.”</p><p>“But you found yourself again,” Sora reminded her, a sad smile on his face.</p><p>Aurora gave him an interested look. “Yes, I suppose I did.” The ghost of a sad smile tugged at her lips. “You remind me of her, somehow.” Then she stopped, confused. “But why are you three looking for this painting?”</p><p>“It’s for Snow’s granddaughter,” Riku explained. “Naminé Whitefall.”</p><p>Aurora’s eyes grew wide. “Granddaughter?” She touched a hand to her lips in surprise. “So Snow had children?”</p><p><i>”Adopted,</i>” Sora quickly cut in. Riku was surprised Sora had remembered that detail from Riku’s story. The thought made Riku feel oddly warm. “She said her true love remained with the painting,” Sora continued.</p><p>Aurora blushed, her eyes shining with tears. “I suppose it would be selfish if that were to make me happy?”</p><p>“I think you’re allowed to be a little selfish,” Kairi told her gently. “All things considered.”</p><p>Aurora shut her eyes tight, tears falling in earnest now. “Thank you,” she murmured. “All of you. You have given me back my heart.” Kairi gave an awkward nod of acknowledgement. "I was so alone for so long, I had forgotten. But I remember now that she never abandoned me." </p><p>Her words echoed significantly in Riku’s mind. It occurred to him how easy it was to give in to loneliness. To let the dark corners of your mind overtake your thoughts and ignore the companionship of those around you. Riku exhaled softly, a sad smile on his lips. His eyes slid over to where Sora stood. It was a mistake all too easy to make, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t make it again.</p><p>Clutching the painting close to her heart, Aurora smiled through her tears. “It’s time I let go. It’s time to say goodbye to this place.”</p><p>“Wait, what-” Kairi began, but she was cut off by a loud rumbling noise. The ground beneath them began to shake violently, and the ceiling above them cracked, loose dirt pouring in through. Riku was flung to his feet as the tremors grew stronger. He grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes tight. His heart thrummed violently in his chest.</p><p>After everything the trio had gone through, Riku never imagined that <i>this</i> is what did them in. He barely had a chance to cry out before he felt damp soil pressing against his lips. The immense pressure of the earth swallowed them up, crushing the air out of Riku's lungs. He couldn't move, he couldn't scream. He couldn't see anything around him, he couldn’t see if the others were succumbing to the same fate.</p><p>Riku had one last thought before the world went black.</p><p>Kissing Sora had been nice.</p><p>*</p><p>*</p><p>*</p><p>Riku’s eyes blinked open. He was laying in the forest, looking up at fluffy white clouds through dark green branches. Birds twitterted overhead.</p><p>The ground beneath him was uneven, stone and clumps of dirt digging into his back. Ears ringing, Riku slowly sat up. All around him was upturned earth as if a hurricane had torn through the forest. But the breeze was gentle and the midday sun was warm. </p><p>There was dirt lodged underneath his nails and he could feel a layer of grime on his body. He felt unbelievably sore, but beyond that, unharmed. A chorus of groans sounded around in the clearing. Riku glanced over to see Kairi and Sora a few yards away, equally filthy but still uninjured.</p><p>“Thank you again,” A voice called. Riku whipped his head around to see Aurora in the clearing.</p><p>In the light of day she was a mere wisp of refracted light. Tears streaked her face but she was grinning broadly, still clutching her beloved painting. The light shifted, and another figure materialized beside her. A short, stout elven woman with wavy hair.</p><p>The elf gently placed a hand on Aurora’s side. Aurora jumped in surprise, though the shock quickly gave way to jubilance. The two embraced so tightly that they almost became one unified silhouette. The sound of gentle laughter like a tinkling bell sounded in the clearing. Then, a gust of wind blew through the forest. In the blink of an eye, the two women were gone, and nothing remained.</p><p>Riku, Sora, and Kairi stared at the spot they had been. A long silence stretched between the three, all equally awed.</p><p>Finally, Kairi was the first to speak.</p><p>“I think…” she began softly. The two men turned to look at her. She was staring at the clearing, a heartfelt expression on her face.</p><p>“I think it’s time I tell Olette I love her.”</p><p>Sora gave his friend a warm smile, clearly approving of the idea. Wordlessly, he got to his feet, adjusted the strap of his instrument, and offered his hands to the other two. They obliged. A shared feeling of warmth, the trio began to make their way through the forest.</p><p>*</p><p>No one spoke for the trek through the forest, nor when they found themselves back on the path through the trees. It was only when the town could be seen from the top of the slope they stood on did someone finally speak.</p><p><i>”Fuck</i>!” Kairi spat. Riku and Sora gave a startled yelp at the silence being broken so suddenly and violently. She whirled around erratically and began kicking at the base of a pine tree.</p><p>“Stupid! <i>Stupid!”</i> She called with each kick.</p><p>“What the hell, Kai?” Sora asked.</p><p>“The fucking painting!” Kairi shouted, giving the tree another merciless kick. The great timber gave a shudder, and a cascade of pine needles fell over them. “It ghosted away with the ladies!” Riku realized that was true, but he felt nothing at the thought. After everything they had been through, gold seemed like the least impressive thing Riku could think of.</p><p>“Aw, c’mon Kai,” Sora told his friend reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We set a cleric’s spirit free and reunited her with her ghost lover. Surely that’s way better than four thousand gold?”</p><p>Riku winced. Mentioning the price had been the wrong move. Kairi gave out an agonized wail of <i>“four thousand gold!”</i> She pulled out from under Sora’s grasp and rounded on the two men.</p><p>“We saw the painting!” She gasped. “We could replicate it!” Riku merely blinked in response. Sora rubbed at the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“I’m a musician, not really a painter…” Sora admitted.</p><p>“Useless,” Kairi snapped. She held out her hand. “I’ll do it- give me your journal, Sora.” Sora shared a look with Riku, then shrugged, and handed the book to Kairi.</p><p>Kairi furiously scrawled on the pages. Riku stepped closer, looking over her shoulder with interest. It was a crude drawing of two stick figures with dot eyes and smiley faces, no other detail other than two lines to represent hair and large circles to represent breasts. Riku desperately tried to bite back the laughter forming in his chest, but he was unsuccessful. </p><p>Kairi’s shoulders tensed and she snapped the book shut. “Fine!” she spat, shoving it into Riku’s hands. “You do it then- Mr. Perfect!” The half-elf spun on her heel to the direction of the town, grumbling to herself. The two men shared a wide eyed look.</p><p>“She’ll get over it, I’m sure,” Sora told him. He watched his friend charge ahead of them, a look of exasperated fondness on his face.</p><p>“Yeah,” Riku sighed in agreement, scratching at his cheek. “I’m sure she will.” The half-orc made to follow after the woman, but stopped when he saw Sora, frozen in place, gaze affixed to him.</p><p>“Everything okay?” Riku asked.</p><p>Sora licked his lips nervously. “Well,” he began, taking a step towards Riku. “I was thinking-”</p><p>“Did it hurt?” Riku asked without really meaning to. His good mood made him want to jest. <i>Thwack!</i> Sora’s tail slapped at the back of Riku's calf. Sora scrunched his nose at him, but continued.</p><p>“I know you’re used to traveling alone,” Sora began. “And I know that’s the way it’s always been for you, but me…” </p><p>Sora scratched at the back of his neck, uncharacteristically nervous. “I’ve always just gone with the flow? I’ve just stuck with whatever group was headed the same direction. But I was thinking I wanted to try something new. And, maybe-” Sora’s red cheeks turned a shade deeper. “You would want that too?”</p><p>Riku felt his own face grow warmer. “Sora-”</p><p>“No pressure or anything!” Sora cut in, raising a hand. “I just thought I would offer! But that’s okay if it’s too unusual for you-” </p><p>Riku smiled. “Sora, I-”</p><p>“Ah- but!” Sora ran a hand through his hair, anxiously fluffing it up. “Even if you still want to travel alone, I’d still like to see you again? Or instead-”</p><p>“<i>Sora,</i>” Riku interrupted him. He stepped forward and pressed a finger to Sora’s lips, effectively silencing the tiefling’s ramblings.</p><p>“Yes?” Sora mumbled against his finger, face flushed.</p><p>“Sora, I would love that,” Riku told him confidently. His chest felt warm, his spirit emboldened, just at the thought. “I want to be by your side. ”</p><p>Sora’s face split into a wide grin. He reached up his own hand, and interlocked their fingers. Sora pulled the other man’s hand onto the side of his face and nuzzled into it, gently kissing Riku’s knuckles.</p><p>Riku tensed at the intimacy, his entire body growing hot. Whatever confidence had overtaken him to shush Sora instantly vanished. He hoped Sora hadn’t noticed, but the other man looked at him through lidded lashes, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Riku gulped loudly.</p><p>The tail resting on Riku’s calf traced it’s way over his thigh and up to his lower back. Riku suppressed a shiver as Sora stepped forward, pressing their bodies together. He reached up, placing one hand on Riku’s neck and the other on his hip.</p><p>“Come down here,” Sora purred.</p><p>“O-oh. Ohk<i>ay-</i>” Riku stuttered as Sora gave a small tug, dragging him down. He bowed his head down until it was level with Sora’s. “Why?”</p><p>“I think you know why,” Sora chided, pressing their lips together. </p><p>Riku shivered, but kissed back. Timidly at first, not wanting to accidentally scratch Sora with a tusk, and then braver. Sora yanked on his hip to pull their bodies even closer, his tail tracing circular patterns along Riku’s lower back. Riku tentatively reached up his other hand, placing it in Sora’s hair, and was rewarded with a contented hum.</p><p>Sora’s hand against Riku’s hip tightened and Riku emitted a noise he had never before, a cross between a squeak and a whine, small and needy. He felt Sora’s lips against his curl into a smile. Reflexively the hand in Sora’s hair clenched, and Sora made a small gasp that took Riku’s breath away. He tilted his head to the side, kissing Sora even deeper.</p><p>Sora pressed back, matching his fervor. He opened his mouth, teeth scraping gently over his lips before biting down on Riku’s lower lip. After that, Riku lost any remaining nervousness. He placed a hand firmly on the small of Sora’s lower back, roughly pressing their bodies together as he opened his mouth, kissing Sora with zeal. Sora made a delighted little squeak which quickly turned into a moan, and he began digging the blunt of his nails into Riku’s neck.</p><p>All of Riku’s senses were overwhelmed by Sora and every inch of his body seemed to thrum with <i>need.</i> But then Sora raised the hand from Riku’s neck to his face, gently cupping the half-orc’s cheek.</p><p>The kiss became slower, something more tender and delicate. Riku raised his hand and rested it over Sora’s, their fingers interlocking. Sora sighed against him, and gently opened his eyes. He was grinning from ear to ear. As the two pulled apart, Riku’s heart continued to flutter like a small, overexcited bird trapped in his ribcage. With a start, Riku noticed Sora had not let go of his hand, their fingers still intertwined.</p><p>“Hurry up already!” Kairi yelled from several yards ahead. </p><p>“We’re right behind you, Kai!” Sora called back, looking as deliriously happy as Riku felt.</p><p>Riku looked down the slope ahead of them. Through the pine forest he could see the Orleah capitol, lit up by the midday sun. The various buildings and their colorful brick rooftops, the puffs of smoke from chimneys, and colorful banners that swayed in the breeze. Beyond the city were expanses of fields, and a glimpse of the ocean shore in the far-off distance.</p><p>Riku had seen this view a hundred times before, but somehow, it had never looked so promising.</p><p>Hearts alight and fingers linked, the two followed their half-elf friend down the slope.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the end :3c<br/>hope yall enjoyed!<br/>stay safe out there &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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